Playing For Keeps
by FlikFreak
Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's about more than missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding boy may hold the answers for him...
1. Back to the UG

Plot bunny alert! Plot bunny alert! (Yeah, ANOTHER plot bunny...I get so many of those)

I was wondering how a crossover between KH and TWEWY might go. No, I'm not abandoning my other stories. Just tossing this one out there because I feel like it. This is my first TWEWY-related fic. Don't hurt me! (hides)

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding boy may hold the answers for him... (Kingdom Hearts Crossover, spoilers for both)

**Playing for Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter One: Back to the UG**

* * *

Neku swore countless times under his breath as he stared at his surroundings. He knew this place so well it wasn't even funny; it was the Scramble Crossing, named as such because of how the masses of people crossed it in such a tangled mess of society. It was the place where, if you were thrown into the Reaper's Game by some twisted misfortune, you started. There was a routine to it. Wake up at the scramble, get ambushed by noise, run to the statue of Hachiko, make a pact with a total stranger in order to survive, then go through the rest of the week trying not to get erased. Neku screamed loudly and furiously, but no one heard him. Of course no one would. Technically, he wasn't even there. He was dead.

Again.

_How'd I die _this _time?_ Neku thought, crossing his arms in frustration. _I can't remember…I was just crossing the street to head to Towa Records…I guess I must have gotten hit by a car or something._ He paused. _Yeesh, I can't believe I'm entertaining that thought._

With a sigh, Neku reached into his pocket and fumbled around. His fingers found several familiar objects that he identified as pins, but he wasn't looking for them in particular. He felt around a bit more and found what he was seeking: a phone. The problem was, Neku didn't _have_ a phone. At least, he didn't have one normally. If you didn't have a phone when you entered the UG, you were given one the same way you were given your pins: completely out of nowhere and with no real explanation.

_Why am I back in the UG?_ He thought angrily. _Did he decide to shoot me again for the thrill of it or something?_ Deep down, of course, he knew there had to be a reason. Something simply told him that there was a slid, bonafide reason he had been dragged back here.

Out of old habit, Neku flipped open the phone. He had been in the game for three weeks previously, and had always checked his phone for mission mail first thing after waking up. What he saw, however, wasn't exactly mission mail, but a normal text message. "Weird," he muttered. "Who'd be sending me a text message before we even get mission mail?"

_Organization XIII_

Neku stared at his phone in disbelief. "A meme?" he muttered. "There's no mission, and I'm already getting a meme?" He glanced around. There were no noise to be found. _Odd…I always got attacked on day one. I wonder where they all are. Not that I want them around or anything._

With an idle glance back at his phone, Neku sighed. He didn't like the idea of being in the game again, but he had no choice but to win if he wanted out. _But what kind of meme is this? I've never heard of a group called that, and I've made sure to keep up with all the trends and stuff, too._

Bleep! Bleep!

_Finally, the mission mail._

But when Neku checked his text messages, he didn't find mission mail. Instead, there was another message.

_Check your left pocket for a note._

"Three cheers for subtlety," Neku grumbled, reaching in his other pocket. Indeed, there was a small scrap of paper with familiar handwriting. Intrigued, he began reading.

_Neku,_

_You've probably already noticed that you're in the UG again. Before you get mad, no, your death wasn't a murder this time, but for now it's both a misfortune and a convenience. Normally, we'd wait until the start of the week to wake you up and start the game (I don't make the rules, so don't blame me), but something weird is going on, so we woke you up early. There was a discussion about what your entry fee would be, but the Composer said to waive it this time. It's not like him to do that, but we both know that something's in the UG that shouldn't be, and if we don't take care of it soon, it'll be in the RG__. We don't want that. The meme we sent you will only work for one person, and whoever it is will probably know something that might help us. We don't know who it is, but if someone's acting suspicious, it'll probably work on them. At least, that's what we were told. Find that person and get in contact with him somehow. Tell him to meet with me as soon as he can. You know the place._

_-Hanekoma_

Crumpling up the bit of paper and putting it back into his pocket, Neku pulled out the familiar-looking player pin and glanced at the people passing by him and not even noticing. He was very miffed that he was the one being stuck with saving Shibuya again, much less being stuck in the reaper's game a fourth time, but at least he knew how things were done in the UG. He stared at the pin in his hand. "Time to put this baby to the test, then," he said, tossing it idly and immediately straining his focus as the rush of thoughts came in. Sometimes, hearing them was more annoying than dealing with the noise interfering since there could be so many at once, but he had quickly learned how to keep his concentration. The search began.

_Where the hell is Jonny? I totally asked him to be here by ten, and it's what, noon now? He owes me a rematch at DDR!_

Nope. Not that one.

_Geez, I know it's weird that he keeps seeing people vanish once they leave the stores and what not, but that doesn't mean they're _ghosts_. This guy needs to get a grip…_

Amusing, but not what he needed. Neku made a quick note of the person's appearance, however, in case he felt like spooking them for fun. He refocused.

_It's bad enough that I got dumped into the middle of a street full of weird people… I can't even figure out where I am?_

Neku paused. This person apparently didn't know much about the Scramble Crossing. Maybe he wasn't from Shibuya. Curious, he continued.

_Cid told me he was getting weird readings from here, and there's one coming from here in this intersection, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary. I doubt anyone here is a Nobody; I would have sensed it._

"You can sense outcasts?" Neku grumbled. "That's new."

_Wha…? No, not outcasts. Nobodies. Geez, Sora, get a grip…let's just find that guy and get this over with._

Neku froze, realizing his error. Though not much time had passed since he had last been in the game, he had forgotten that imprinting was a _lot_ easier than it seemed. Keeping his mouth closed, he tracked the facts silently. This person's name was Sora. He was able to sense Nobodies, which were _not_ outcasts. He was also looking for someone. Neku shook himself out of his thought-reading daze and found the person whose mind he had been reading: a brunette boy dressed in mostly black clothing, wearing large tennis shoes and sporting some of the spikiest hair he had seen since he played through Final Fantasy VII.

_Maybe this is the guy,_ Neku thought, almost grinning in victory. _The meme can wait. I wonder what he's up to…_

* * *

Sora made a mental note to get back at Cid later. He had just been dumped into the middle of a street in what appeared to be a large, bustling city. For once he could actually read the signs on the buildings – many of the other worlds he had been to had contained some alphabets he couldn't read – but it didn't help that no one really paid that much attention to him. Groaning and standing up, the keyblade master examined his surroundings. He had _never_ seen this many people gathered in one place before. Nervously, he reached up for the small headphone-communicator he had been given. "I made it in one piece," he said calmly. "Do you read me, Cid?"

"I hear ya," Cid's voice replied. "I was getting some of the weirdest readings from this place. Not sure whether it's heartless or nobodies, but I thought it might be a good idea for you to check it out."

"That's what you tell me every time," Sora grumbled, though underneath he was grateful. A while ago, he had joined the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee in keeping world order. Heartless and Nobodies were still running about, and since Radiant Garden had long been fixed up, they decided to instead focus their efforts elsewhere. Every now and then, Sora would be tossed into a strange world that would need some fixing up, but he never really minded. So far, nothing too terribly bad had happened to him.

The sound of fingers going across a keyboard met Sora's ears. "We can't really figure out what the readings are from. There's one right near you. Can you see anything?"

Sora paused, glancing around. "No. All I see are people. You sure your tracker isn't messed up?"

"I'm sure," Cid replied. "It might be a stealth soldier or something like that. Just keep on your guard. And watch your back."

"I will," Sora replied, hanging up and stuffing the communicator in his pocket. With a sigh, he headed down the street and entered a small burger shop, pulling out some munny from his pocket and staring at the menu. Striding casually up to the counter, he waited patiently until someone came to the counter.

A girl donning a clean uniform was quickly with him. "Welcome to Sunshine!" She greeted. "May I take your order?"

"Yeah," Sora began. "Can I get a double burger with some fries and a cola?"

"Sure," the girl replied, ringing up his order. "That'll be 1,010 yen!"

Sora felt his entire body go stiff. _Not good,_ he thought. _This place uses a different currency! What am I supposed to do now?!_

The girl blinked. "Sir, is something wrong?"

"Actually," Sora began, hesitating. How was he supposed to get food without money? "I, uh…what I mean to say is-"

"He wants you to put it on my tab."

Sora spun around to see a boy walk in the door behind him, his hands in the pockets of his white, baggy pants. His shirt was mostly black, with a large blue streak running up the center and a muffler-like hood, and his shoes bore a similar design. The boy also had a pair of headphones on, but they looked more like a fashion statement than anything, and rested calmly around his neck, leaving his spiked brown hair bare. The boy looked Sora over a few times with deep blue eyes, then dismissed him and headed over to the counter.

The girl apparently recognized him. "Oh, hey there, Neku! Getting the usual? I'll stick some extra fries in for you."

Neku grinned. "If you say so," he replied, dropping a number of coins on the counter. "This kid's a friend of mine. He's from out of town, so I'm showing him around a bit."

"Right," the girl said, nodding. "I'll get your food ready. Go ahead and pick a seat; we won't take too long."

"Sure," Neku replied, taking Sora's arm and dragging him along. "Come on, spiky."

_Spiky?_ Sora echoed. "Uh, okay," he said, following the boy until he sat him down at a table near the window. Once there he breathed out a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding. "Thanks."

"You have to be a total moron to walk around Shibuya without any money," the boy replied, groaning. "You're lucky I came when I did, but don't worry about owing me. I've got plenty of money I won from the Tin Pin Slam-off yesterday." He held out a hand. "The name's Neku Sakuraba. Nice to meet you."

Sora held out his own gloved hand and shook Neku's. "I'm Sora. Nice to meet you, too."

Neku nodded. "What brings you to Shibuya? Last time I checked, this wasn't exactly a tourist location."

_For a casual question, it sure can seem nosy sometimes._ "I'm here to visit someone," Sora replied. He really was; he just wasn't sure who. At least, not yet anyway. "You live here or something?"

"Not really," Neku replied. "I might as well though; I end up spending a lot of time here."

Sora tilted his head. "You talk like it's a bad thing."

Neku chuckled humorlessly. "Trust me, it can be."

The waitress arrived and set their trays down. "Here's your order, Neku. If you need anything, let me know!"

"I will," Neku replied before he took his food. Sora noticed that he had chosen chicken nuggets and orange juice and stared at his own burger for a moment before digging in. Neku took a sip from his own drink before speaking up. "So, how long have you been here?"

"Just got here today," Sora replied, downing a few of his fries. "Are there any ramen shops around here?"

"There's the Ramen Don down at Dogenzaka," Neku said. "Don't let the smell fool you; the ramen there is absolutely phenomenal. Personally, I prefer the Shoyu ramen they serve there."

"I'll have to head down there sometime," Sora said, grinning. "Once I get my own cash of course."

"Just tell Sebastian I sent you," Neku suggested, eating another of his nuggets. "He's the owner of the shop. His real name is Ken Doi, but no one calls him that."

"Kind of reminds me of a friend I have," Sora said after swallowing a bite of his burger. _Wow, this place is great. I'll have to come back here after checking out the ramen store…_ "Where do all the kids hang out around here?"

"It depends on where you like to hang out," Neku replied, tossing his now-empty OJ cup into the trashcan nearby. "My friends normally hang out at the statue of Hachiko right outside. It's sort of a commemorative place for us."

Sora grinned playfully. "What, did you all meet there for the first time or something?"

The expression on Neku's face was odd. It was sort of sad, insulted, amused and happy all at the same time. The boy finally decided on amused and nodded. "Yeah, you could say that. So, are you ready to get going?"

"Get going?" Sora echoed. "Are you taking me somewhere?"

Neku paused again before shaking his head. "Sorry. Old habit."

_Old habit, huh…I wonder what from?_

"Anyway," Neku continued. "I'm done eating, and I've got somewhere I need to be at. Could you do me a favor though?"

Sora nodded. He was always eager to help out. "You got it."

"There's a girl that normally hangs out at Hachiko," Neku explained carefully. "She wears glasses and she's always toting around this stuffed animal. She says it's a cat, but it looks like a pig to me…" He chuckled quietly. "Anyway, her name is Shiki Misaki. If you see her, can you tell her I'm okay?"

"Sure," Sora replied slowly. "But…could I ask why? I mean, it's not as though Hachiko is really far away… Not to be rude or anything!" He quickly added.

Neku didn't seem to take the comment personally, thankfully, and just shook his head. "I've got to be somewhere else for a while, and she's probably going to be worried sick about me. Just let Shiki know I'm fine." With that, he picked up the carton containing the rest of his nuggets and began walking out the door. "If you need anything, Sora, go to Hachiko. I'm almost always there."

_Wait, what?_ Sora found his head buzzing in confusion. If Neku wanted to tell someone he was alright – someone that hung out at the same spot _he_ did – wouldn't it be easier to just walk up and tell them? There weren't _two_ Hachikos. Something fishy was going on. Standing up abruptly, Sora hurried toward the door just as Neku exited and looked outward, searching for the boy whom he had just spoken with.

But Neku was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

END CHAPTER ONE.

Yeah, I did some research on that food order. I hope I got the yen count and what Neku's favorites were right...


	2. Reaper Creeper

So...apparently this story is good? It is according to my reviewers, anyway. I sure hope it is; this is my first TWEWY story. Anywho, here's chapter 2 (which I'm feeling a bit iffy about right now, hopefully it's decent), chapter 3 is on the way.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Two: Reaper Creeper**

* * *

There wasn't much amusement to be had in watching Sora look about wildly for him, but Neku walked off anyway, waiting for the boy to exit. The boy was definitely suspicious, he knew that much. After dealing with the people he had dealt with, he could spot big secrets from miles away. Sora had one, he knew it.

As he watched, Neku saw Sora head back inside and hastily finish his food before exiting and heading for the statue of Hachiko. He was going to be here a while, so he had a bit of time to think. Tossing his player pin again, he closed his eyes and stood stock-still, listening in to the radio of people's thoughts and hoping to find something interesting.

_Man, why is that guy still wearing that red pin? Those went out of style ages ago._

Neku grinned. The red pin, also known as the "O-Pin," had been used by the game's former conductor for a purpose that Neku didn't exactly approve of. The fact that no one even bothered wearing them anymore was a relief to him, even though they didn't function anymore. He retained his focus, moving on.

_Ugh, I'm late for school again. I might as well skip today…_

_That Ramen Don place has some pretty tasty food! It's a shame the smell drives away so many customers._

_Omigawd! The Prince posted on his blog again! I can't wait to go home and read it!_

_I can't find that manga _anywhere_! They said they were releasing it today! Maybe they ran out…_

_Where's Beat? He said he'd be here an hour ago…_

Neku stopped when he heard the last thought, snapping his eyes open. He swept his gaze over to the statue of Hachiko to see Shiki standing all alone. He began to approach and call out to her, but he stopped, remembering that he couldn't. He wasn't in the RG; he couldn't interact with her. Sighing, Neku went and stood by her anyway. _She still carries around that stuffed animal,_ he noted, grinning.

"Hey, Shiki!"

Shiki and Neku glanced up in the same direction to see Beat and Rhyme approaching, both still wearing their usual attire that Neku recognized from the time when they were in the game. Shiki would have crossed her arms had she not been holding Mr. Mew, he knew it. "You're an hour late, Beat! What took you so long?"

Beat sighed. "Sorry, yo. We totally forgot, then we got held up at the scramble…"

"Beat forgot where he put the board," Rhyme explained.

"Rhyme!"

Neku chuckled. Beat was always trying to act tough, even when covering up his mistakes, but Rhyme never failed to expose him. He leaned calmly against the statue, listening to their conversation.

"So, you two heard the news?" Shiki asked.

"Yeah," Rhyme replied. "I could hardly believe it…do you think he's going to go through the game again to come back?"

"Even if he does," Beat began, "He's good. He won't go down real easy. I was his partner when he went through the third time in a row…he had some serious skills, yo. He'll be fine."

"I'm still worried," Shiki said. "He'd only been back for so long, and then he ended up going back…he shouldn't have to go through all that again!"

"I'm okay," Neku muttered, even though he knew Shiki couldn't hear him. If only they pulled out Reaper Creeper or something similar, he could communicate with them. He looked up briefly just in time to notice Sora exiting the shop, a confused look on his face. _Looks like he finished eating,_ he thought. _Time to test out this meme._ Tossing his pin, he closed his eyes once more and searched for Sora's thoughts. They weren't hard to find.

_Where'd Neku go? He couldn't have gotten far…people just don't disappear like that._

"Organization XIII," Neku mumbled, the same way he had done before, and crossed his fingers. If this kid was the one he was supposed to be looking for, it would work, and he would hear him.

…_what the? Organization XIII… Where'd _that_ thought come from? Augh, what was I doing here again?_

Neku grinned. Victory. This was the kid that Mr. H needed. Now all he had to do was convince him to go to Cat Street…but how?

_Eh, I'll look into that later. Neku wanted me to do something for him…_

Breaking his concentration and opening his eyes again, Neku smiled and watched as Sora glanced over at the Statue of Hachiko and began jogging over.

* * *

The day was only getting weirder and weirder as the minutes passed. Sora's first new friend had vanished without a trace, leaving him with free food and a favor to ask. Sora didn't see any harm in carrying it out, so he headed over to the statue slowly while clicking on his communicator. "Hey, Cid. Why didn't you tell me that this place doesn't take munny?"

"Sorry about that, Sora. I was going to convert your cash into yen but I totally forgot…"

"It's okay for now," Sora replied. "Some kid named Neku showed up and paid for my meal. We talked a bit, and he asked me to do a favor for him."

"Like what?"

"He wanted me to tell a friend he was okay," Sora explained. "I don't see how it's important, but I'm still going to do it."

"Just watch your back, Sora. Shibuya's a nice place and all, but there's some bad folks wandering around that'll want you out of the picture, if you get my meaning."

"I'll handle it," Sora replied, hanging up as he neared the group he had spotted. "Excuse me, miss…"

The girl he had approached, whom was holding a stuffed animal, glanced up nervously. "Um…can I help you?"

Sora hesitated. _I never was very good on introductions…_ he cleared his throat. "Would you happen to be Shiki Misaki?"

The girl looked at the other two kids with her and then nodded. "Um…yes. Who are you?"

"I'm Sora," Sora said, jabbing a thumb at himself. "It's nice to meet you. I'm kind of new here, and someone told me to find you…"

"Nice to meet you, Sora!" The younger girl next to Shiki said. "I'm Rhyme, and this is my brother, Beat."

"Whoa, whoa!" The boy cried out. "Take it easy, Rhyme! We barely know this guy, yo!"

"But he knows Shiki," Rhyme argued in a distinctly calm and innocent voice. "And I don't think he's anyone bad."

"Not bad?" Beat echoed in disbelief.

"Oh, knock it off," Shiki said, grinning at the two before turning back to Sora. "So, how long have you been here, Sora? Judging from how you look, you must not have been here long."

"Just got here today," Sora replied. "I'm here to visit someone, but I got asked to come see you."

Shiki quirked an eyebrow. "You were?" She asked.

"Yeah," Sora replied, uneasy. "I met someone in the restaurant just now. He told me to tell you he was okay. His name was Neku Sakuraba."

The three kids stared at Sora like he had grown a third head. _Well,_ the keyblade master observed, _At least now I know that the request had some meaning in it. I didn't expect to get a look like that, though._ "Is something wrong?"

Shiki hesitated before speaking again. "Sora…Neku's dead."

Sora felt his spine go rigid when the words reached his ears. _Dead? Are they kidding? _ "You can't be serious," he replied. "He's not dead, I was talking to him just earlier-"

"He's dead, man," Beat replied, his face solemn. "Got hit by a car just yesterday. Folks in the hospital said he didn't make it."

"Hachiko is our favorite hangout," Rhyme explained. "We were coming here today to play Reaper Creeper to honor his memory. It was Beat's idea."

Beat didn't have a protest to that, and simply nodded in agreement. Shiki stared at the ground sadly, and Sora felt like running off and never coming back again. To act so casually about someone who was dead made him feel ashamed somehow. "You mean," he began, "That kid is really dead? But how did I see him in that restaurant just earlier? He came in and paid for my meal for me and then he just walked off. I tried to follow him outside but he just vanished into thin air…"

The three friends exchanged glances, and there was an odd moment of silence before any of them spoke again. "Well," Shiki began. "How should we put this…?"

"We don't," Beat interrupted. "We're not supposed to talk about it, remember?"

_Put what?_ Sora thought. _What's going on? Didn't they just say that kid was dead? That can't be right, though… If I just saw him, then was he…?_

"Some parts of Shibuya are sort of haunted," Rhyme explained. "Maybe you saw Neku's ghost."

"That's positively creepy," Sora muttered, shivering. "Then again, something did seem kind of odd about him."

"Wanna try playing Reaper Creeper with us?" Rhyme offered, pulling out a small piece of paper that had apparently been stowed away in her pocket. She unfolded it and laid it flat on the ground. "We were ganna play, anyway."

Shiki and Beat knelt down after Rhyme did, and Sora followed suit. "How do you play?" He asked.

As though to answer, Shiki pulled out a small coin with the number 10 on it and placed it in the center. "It's sort of like a Ouija Board," she replied. "It's a big fad among most people these days. They use it to supposedly communicate with spirits called Reapers to answer questions or solve problems." She pointed at the three different symbols, which were arranged in a triangular fashion. "You start by summoning the reaper so to speak, and then you ask the question. The coin starts in the middle, and can move to any of the three symbols. The white symbol means yes, the black symbol means no, and the red gate means neither."

_Is the occult some sort of huge influence here or something?_ Sora wondered, but he nodded. "Sounds simple enough. Have you played it before?"

The three exchanged glances. "Not exactly," Shiki replied, "But we've seen it done, sort of…"

"Who's ganna summon the reaper?" Rhyme asked.

"I'll do it," Shiki volunteered. "I've seen it done plenty of times." She double-checked, making sure the coin was in the center of the page, and cleared her throat. "Okay, here goes…"

Sora felt the air temperature drop slightly, but shook it off as his imagination. He glued his focus on the coin in front of him as Shiki spoke, her voice shaky but loud enough to hear. "Reaper Creeper, before we get in too much deeper… If you're here all right, go to white!"

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Sora was about to turn away when he saw the coin budge and move just barely to the left, wavering a bit, but it eventually stopped right on top of the white symbol. Sora saw Rhyme grin. "The reaper's here!" She whispered.

"So, now what?" Sora asked.

"Now you ask a question," Shiki replied, setting the coin in the center again.

"I have one, yo," Beat said hastily. "Okay…Reaper Creeper, we just met someone that says he met Neku. If he's right, go to white."

_Wha?!_ Sora cried inwardly, his eyes widening. _How are they going to get an answer to that? Sure, I met Neku, but how can this reaper person be sure?_

The coin shifted again, moving to white. Beat stared at the coin with ice cold eyes, while Sora's nearly bulged out of his head in surprise. Shiki gave Beat quick, admonishing glare before moving the coin back to the center. "Anyone else have a question?"

There was silence for a moment while Sora thought. _That Neku person was really weird…something just wasn't right about him. These people told me he was dead, but I met him just earlier. He couldn't have been a ghost, otherwise people would have noticed. And why would he only appear in the shop? Maybe…_ He stared at the coin with all of his focus. "Reaper Creeper," he chanted quietly, barely aware that the other three teenagers were giving him an odd look. "I came here today and went to Sunshine Stationside. Inside, I met someone named Neku. He spoke to me for a few minutes and left the store after telling me to find Shiki. When I tried to find Neku again, he had vanished into thin air. If I'm right, go to white."

For a moment, the coin sat still. There was a slight twitch as it moved upward, toward the red symbol, then it twitched toward the white symbol in indecision. Sora could have sworn he heard someone nearby grunting in frustration before the coin settled on the white symbol. Sora clenched a fist in shock as Shiki nervously reset the coin. _But how is that possible? They said he was dead!_

"Reaper Creeper," Rhyme began. "Neku was our best friend, and he died yesterday in a car accident. Sora came and sent a message from him. If Neku is indeed alright, go to white."

Once more, the coin fervently but slowly shifted to the white symbol. Shiki reset it again, and took a deep breath, apparently nervous about something. "Reaper Creeper," she began. "We are Neku's best friends, and we're worried about him. He died just yesterday, but he says he's alright. If he's where he went before, go to white."

_Where he went before?_ Sora echoed. _What are they talking about…?_

To add to Sora's confusion, the coin shifted to white once more. Shiki closed her eyes. "Well, we know where Neku is," she said quietly, sitting up. "I think we're done for the day, Rhyme."

Rhyme nodded, giving the coin back to Shiki and folding the paper up once more. "I don't know how Neku enjoyed this game so much," she said quietly. "It's cool, sure, but it's still creepy knowing who's moving the coin around."

Sora decided not to comment on that. He pushed himself to his feet, brushing off his pants. "This is the statue of Hachiko, right?" he asked, hoping to change the subject. "Do you guys come here a lot?"

"Yeah," Shiki replied. "We all met here, so to speak. Ever since we all became friends, we just sort of come here whenever. It's one of our favorite hangouts."

Smiling, Sora nodded. _Neku told me the same thing, pretty much._

"Did Neku tell you about it?" Rhyme asked, earning a sad smile from Shiki and an admonishing yet solemn gaze from her older brother.

"He mentioned it," Sora admitted. "He said if I needed anything, I should come here because he spends a lot of time here. I don't really know what he meant, though." He paused for a moment. "Wait a sec…do you actually believe me?"

Rhyme nodded. "Yeah. I can tell you're not lying."

Sora blinked in confusion, but Shiki just smiled and shook her head. "Rhyme is a really good judge on character. She's really good at reading people…_unlike her brother_."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Beat exclaimed.

"You jump to conclusions a lot, Beat," Rhyme said, smiling in a completely innocent fashion.

The skateboarder began to protest when Shiki spoke up again. "Anyway, we have to get going. It was nice meeting you, Sora."

Sora smiled and bowed politely. "It's nice meeting you too, guys."

After waving farewell to the three, Sora headed down toward what appeared to be a train station. He pulled out a small charm from his pocket made from familiar thalassa shells. It was woven with a strong thread and arranged in the shape of a star. He remembered the charm well; Kairi had given it to him in Traverse Town two years ago, and he promised to give it back to her. Every now and then, he would pull out the charm just to look at it and think back on his promise.

Looking up, Sora noticed that he had walked into a dark alleyway. _Not exactly the safest place to be,_ he noted, beginning to turn and leave. As he did, however, he saw a stranger approaching him at a fast pace. Sora froze as he took in this person's appearance.

Black slacks. A loose, grey shirt. Near-white hair. Blank, pale blue eyes. In his hand was a shotgun. Running after him was a taller man dressed in black, dark shoulder-length hair whipping behind him as he ran. His own yellow eyes were affixed to the boy he was chasing, and he also had a shotgun.

Sora's first instinct was to run. Two people with firearms approaching at top speed in a back alley was _never_ a good sign. He considered running, but somehow his legs wouldn't respond to his commands. He stumbled, landing on his rear and unable to run.

The younger of the two halted next to Sora and pointed his gun at the boy's head. "You know who this is," he said slyly, "Don't you?"

The older stopped in his tracks. "Wha…you're not going to do it _again_, are you?"

The boy smirked. "If I have to, I will, whether either of us likes it or not. You don't want a repeat of what Neku dragged you into, do you?"

Sora's eyes widened, and he began to ask the boy how he knew Neku, but he kept his mouth shut. His eyes darted between the boy and the black-clad man. The boy was threatening to kill him, but something didn't seem right about the man, either. _Who's the enemy here?_ He thought. _What's going on?!_

Gritting his teeth, the man aimed his gun at the boy. "Who gives a digit?!" he snarled. "I can still iterate you _and_ that yoctogram, even if he _is_ one of your proxies!"

The boy smirked. "First of all, he isn't my proxy, and second of all, are you sure you can do that? If I remember correctly, didn't you get smashed under your own garbage heap when you tried to take me on?"

Not giving an answer, the man shot several bullets at the boy. Sora winced, bracing himself for the sound of the boy falling, but heard nothing. Opening his eyes, he saw the bullets freeze in midair and fall to the ground. The boy sighed. "I told you. You can't hurt me." He glanced at Sora. "Sorry about this."

Sora blinked. _Sorry about what? You're pointing a _gun_ at me._ Within a split second, the keyblade master put two and two together, and scrambled desperately in attempt to flee. At the same time, the mysterious boy pulled the trigger on his gun.

The bullet was faster.

* * *

WUT.

I know that's what you're thinking. Anyway, chapter 3 soon!


	3. Making the Pact

Welcome to Shibuya, Sora. You have seven days.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Three: Making the Pact**

* * *

Neku couldn't help but smile. He had played Reaper Creeper both in the UG and in the RG. In the UG, he had been the one pushing the coin, but in the RG he would play it typically like any other person would. He hadn't lost his touch with psychokinesis, either; the coin moved exactly where he told it to, and at exactly at the right speed. Sora's question caused him to hesitate, but he knew that lying wouldn't be fair to his friends, and spoke the truth. Once their game was done, he walked away and down the street, deciding to take in the sights and breathe some fresh air…not that the air in the UG was any sweeter than the air in the RG, but he could deal with it.

In a blur, he saw a familiar boy race past him, shotgun in hand. Neku got a good look at him and recognized the face. _Joshua…?_ He thought. _He must be in the RG. Why is he running?_

The answer came in the form of a man pursuing him…a man Neku recognized all too well: Sho Minamimoto "Great…it's Pi-Face." He did a double take. _Wait a minute…I thought he was erased! What's he doing back?!_

Neku chased after them to find both had stopped in a back alley. He made it just in time to see Joshua holding Sora at gunpoint, threatening Minamimoto. He cocked his head. _What threat does Sora have to the grim heaper? If he's still trying to become the composer, then why is Joshua threatening him with this kid?_

Gunshots fired, and before he knew it, Neku saw Minamimoto fleeing and Joshua staring at Sora's dead body. Sighing, Joshua reached into his pocket and placed a familiar player pin in Sora's own pocket. Neku clenched his fists as Joshua set his eyes on him. "Nice to see you again, Neku. Shame it's like this."

"You _killed_ him," Neku growled angrily. "Why did you do it?"

"He's the one we've been needing all this time," Joshua replied simply, his smirk still not showing itself. "Minamimoto's been dabbling in stuff he shouldn't again, and it's worse than taboo noise."

Neku blinked. "What do you mean _again_? I thought you got rid of him!"

Joshua shrugged. "He was only knocked out. A mistake on my part that _won't_ be happening again."

_Okay, something's _definitely _up,_ Neku concluded, crossing his arms. _Last time I met with Joshua, he wasn't this serious. Whatever's going on has to be huge._ "What's Sora got to do with this?" he demanded. "Why're you putting him in the game?"

"Don't worry," Joshua replied. "I'm restoring both of you once this whole mess is cleared up. I just need someone reliable to help deal with this noise problem we've got."

"Why are you bothering with noise, anyway?" Neku asked. "Aren't those just the monsters sicced onto the players all the time?"

Joshua shook his head. "That's the thing. We're not sure if these even are noise. What we do know is that if they keep spreading, they'll get into the RG and wreak havoc there. We don't want that."

Neku narrowed his eyes, remembering the mail he had received. "Right. What do you need me to do?"

Smiling, Joshua folded his arms delicately. "Simple, really…"

* * *

Sora groaned, rubbing his head and cracking his eyes open. The last thing he had remembered was that weird boy pointing that gun at him, and then he had passed out. _Am I dead?_ He wondered. As he looked around though, he saw the sun overhead, familiar buildings around him, and people walking past him. They didn't seem to care about him lying in the middle of the street, however, and he was able to stand up and dust himself off without drawing too much attention. _I can't be dead. This place looks way too much like…_ he paused. _…of course. I only passed out. Someone thought it would be a cruel joke to toss me into the Scramble Crossing. Yeesh, it was bad enough when I got ridiculed for talking about a dead kid. At least no one's looking at me funny…_

Sighing, the keyblade master reached for the communicator he hadn't taken off yet when he felt something in his hand. Looking down, he found an odd, black-and-white pin designed with a skull and crossbones motif. It was the kind of pin someone would attach to their shirt or jacket during a protest or some sort of odd promotion. "Where'd this come from?" he wondered aloud. Curious, he tossed his hands a bit to test its weight. It was heavier than it seemed. _Must be one of those weird promotion buttons, _he thought. _But it's a little heavy for one._

Misjudging his hand's movement, Sora nearly dropped the pin. Fearing that it would be lost among the masses, he admonished himself for his clumsiness and caught the pin in his hands. The moment the pin made contact with his skin again, there was a very brief silence. Then, almost from nowhere, an explosion of sound struck him. Sora clasped his hands over his ears in effort to block it out, but it didn't work. In fact, it only seemed to _amplify_ the sound.

_Ugh, what a drag. I wanna go home._

_Geez, what the hell is taking him so long?_

_That guy is _way_ out of his league._

_Damn, that chick is hot!_

_I knew I should have picked that up._

_Where's that ramen place, again?_

_Omigosh! I'm totally late for the karaoke meet today!_

Sora stumbled, falling backward on his rear and dropping the pin onto the ground. Picking it up again, he stared at it in disbelief. _What just happened?_ He wondered. _Where'd this pin come from, and what were those voices…?_

Beep, beep.

Blinking, Sora heard a familiar sound of a phone ringing. He stared at his pocket as it continued. _What the…I don't have a cell phone._ Reaching into his pocket, Sora found that there was indeed a phone situated inside, along with several other small pins similar to the black-and-white skull one. _Well…looks like I have one now. Good thing I know how to work these._ He flipped it open. "A text message?" he mumbled, reading it.

_Reach 104. You have 60 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. –The Reapers_

Sora stared at the message blankly for a moment. "104?" He said. "That's just ahead. Why would I need an hour to-AUGH!" His words were cut short when a sharp stinging cut into his right hand. He grasped his wrist in agony, his breathing labored for a moment as the burning sensation died down.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

The sound of a clock reached his ears, and Sora gazed around wildly for it. No clock could possibly be that loud. Pausing and making a guess, he removed the glove on his right hand and stared at it. Someone…or some_thing_…had engraved the letters 59:49 on it. No, it said 59:48. Now it said 59:47. Sora's eyes widened and he shoved his glove back on before anyone could see it. _This is nuts!_ He thought. _There's some weird timer _burned_ into my hand!_

A strange, synthetic whirring sound reached Sora's ears, and he swept his gaze upward. Graffiti-like symbols hovered over him, slowly forming into wolf-like monsters. Eyes widening, Sora cried out for help, but no one in the intersection seemed to pay any attention. _What's going on?!_ He cried. _Why isn't anyone listening…or running away, at least?_ He attempted to call the keyblade to his aid, but found that it wouldn't come. Swearing, he tried again. Nothing. Knowing he had no choice, Sora ran, the wolves following after him at a high pace.

It was then when a thought occurred to him. Neku had told him earlier to go to the statue of Hachiko if he ever needed help. _This certainly qualifies, doesn't it,_ he thought bitterly, _But all those people at the scramble pretended I wasn't even there! Who's going to help me now?_

By the time Sora reached Hachiko, he wasn't out of breath, but he was running out of hope. For some reason, he couldn't summon the keyblade, and without the keyblade he couldn't defend himself from whatever those twisted monsters were that were chasing him. One of the noise lunged for him. Sora was sure he wasn't going to make it when a blur of white and blue tackled him to the side, causing the wolf to miss its target. Looking up, Sora saw his rescuer holding a hand toward him. He blinked; this person was _very_ familiar. "…Neku?" He asked. "I thought-"

"Forge a pact with me!" Neku demanded, ignoring Sora's question.

"Wha?"

"Do you want to be erased?" Neku said impatiently, eyes narrowing. "If we forge a pact, we can fight the noise!"

Sora's eyes widened. "Noise?"

"Hurry!"

"Alright, alright!" Sora shouted, reaching forward. "I accept!"

Neku grabbed Sora's hand, and a burst of white light shot from where their hands connected. Neku dragged Sora to his feet and spun around to face the noise, letting loose a stream of fire that trailed along the ground and consumed the wolves, demolishing them in a burst of what looked dangerously similar to the static Sora had seen before on a television. Neku breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew, close one."

Sora glanced from Neku to his hand in disbelief. "What just happened?"

"We made a pact," Neku explained, "And I erased those noise that were attacking us."

"Those monsters were noise?" Sora asked, standing up.

"Yeah."

Sora was at loss for words for a moment before he shook his head. "Hold it. You're Neku, that kid from the restaurant yesterday."

Neku didn't seem surprised, and he nodded. "Yep. Nice to see you again, Sora. I was kind of hoping it wouldn't be like _that_, though." He turned away. "Come on. We need to get to 104."

"Wait a sec!" Sora cried. "How do you know about that?"

"Easy," Neku replied. "It's in your mission mail, isn't it?" Sora, eyes wide in shock, pulled out his phone and stared at the text message screen. Neku nodded and continued. "Besides, the first mission is always to reach 104 after making a pact."

"Mission?" Sora echoed. "Pact? What's going on?"

Neku grabbed Sora's arm and dragged him along. "I'll explain later. Just come on; we're on a time limit. Look at your hand if you don't believe me."

Sora followed. He knew precisely what Neku was talking about when he referenced his hand. The timer must have been the time limit the boy was referring to. Both boys remained silent until they reached the vicinity of a tall building past the scramble. Once there, Sora felt a numbing sensation on his hand momentarily. Neku noticed, and showed his own hand. "Timer's gone. Mission accomplished."

"That was easy," Sora commented.

"Not really," Neku replied, crossing his arms again. "The point of day one in this game is to find a partner and form a pact while avoiding being erased by the noise. If you don't do that, you're immediately disqualified."

Sora groaned. "Great, so we're in a game? I don't remember signing up for any of this."

Neku sighed, rolling his eyes. "Welcome to the UG. You're invisible, and while you can see everyone else, no one sees you. You're stuck in an alternate Shibuya playing the Reaper's Game for seven days with no way out but to win."

"I don't have _time _for this game!" Sora protested. "I'm trying to find someone!"

"I know," Neku replied. "I'm supposed to take you to him. Now that you're here in the UG…which wasn't supposed to happen, by the way…it just got a bit harder for both of us."

Sora paused. "Wait a minute; you know who I'm looking for?"

Neku rolled his eyes. "Of course I do," he said. "That is, if he's the same one that told me to find you. The main problem is that we need to get past some walls if we're going to make it there, and we still need to keep up our missions if we're going to survive the game and get a second chance."

_Second chance…? Am I being punished for something? I've never committed any crimes..._ Sora found the statement somewhat confusing, but didn't say anything. "Well, we cleared the mission," he said. "What do we do now?"

"We _could_ wait for the next one," Neku began, "Or I can take you to that guy we're supposed to meet."

"Meeting sounds like the better idea," Sora said. "But I still have a lot of questions. For one, aren't you dead?"

Neku froze dead in his tracks, staring at the ground. Sora felt a sense of victory in his mind; he had hit the nail on the head. Shiki and the others were right; Neku _was_ dead. But even so, how was that possible? Neku was standing right in front of him, dragging him along by wrist. It gave him the chills for a moment, and he had expected Neku to be cold, but he was as alive as…well, Sora himself. Neku didn't look back at him, but kept going. "Yeah," he replied. "I _am_ dead."

"And you like to haunt burger shops, I take it?" Sora asked, highly suspicious.

"No," Neku replied. "They just have good food there."

"I don't get it," Sora began. "How can you eat if you're dead?"

Neku shook his head, sighing in exasperation. "Trust me, you just can. And for the record, I don't _haunt_ places. I'm not a ghost or anything. When you're in the Reaper's Game, you're basically invisible to the entire world. Why do you think no one helped you when those noise attacked?"

Sora saw Neku's point; he had shouted for help but no one heard him. No one even panicked. He was in the Reaper's Game…and no one could see him. Maybe he could still contact Cid…

"You can still go into certain shops and be seen, though," Neku added. "That's how I was able to follow you into Sunshine."

"So I can go into a store and shop for clothes or buy food like anyone else?" Sora asked. "That's a relief."

Neku rolled his eyes. Apparently he hated playing questionnaire. "No, it's not. You still have to do missions, and you're still on a time limit. We cleared today's mission though, so we're free to roam until tomorrow comes." Neku then stopped, turning around and glancing at Sora. "You can stop me at any time, you know."

"Oh," was Sora's only reply. He cleared his throat nervously. "There's one other thing I'd like to know, though…who are we going to see?"

"A man named Hanekoma. My friends and I call him Mr. H. He runs a café on Cat Street, which is about a twenty minute walk from here. He's also the guy that sent me to find you and bring you here."

With nothing more to say, Sora followed Neku back to the scramble and past two large department stores. Neku paused a moment in front of a large music store, smiling slightly, before moving on. _Maybe he likes music,_ Sora thought as they continued through a graffiti-filled tunnel and a similarly-decorated city park. The whole way, Neku never said a word, and Sora followed, his mind still filled with questions. What about that pact they made? What was the pin for? What were those voices he heard? Why could he see Neku now, if he couldn't before? How was he interacting with some kid who was dead? And if Neku was dead, why did he still seem like he was still alive?

"Here we are," Neku said suddenly. "This is Cat Street."

Sora took a look around. There were several small cafés and furniture stores, as well as a clothing store near where they entered. Several people walked about, though compared to the scramble crossing, this place seemed rather bare. "Kind of refreshing to be out of the crowd," Sora commented.

Neku chuckled quietly. "Tell me about it. Come on; Mr. H is meeting us in WildKat."

The two entered a small coffee shop, where Sora spotted a man with black hair and a goatee. He wore relatively normal clothes: a white shirt coupled with a black vest and black slacks. He was adjusting his glasses when the two walked in, and waved cheerfully. "Hey there, Neku! Cup of joe for the road?"

"Not today Mr. H," Neku replied. "I've got a visitor for you. Didn't you ask to see him?"

Hanekoma looked at Sora and nodded. "Ah, you found him. Joshua told me about what happened. I'm guessing you two made a pact for the game?"

"Other people know about the game?" Sora asked, surprised.

"Of course," Mr. H replied, smiling. "We just don't talk about it much."

Neku shook his head. "Anyway, Sora's got some questions for you. I would have answered them myself, but 20 Questions isn't my favorite pastime."

Hanekoma laughed. "I know, I know. So, Sora, what do you want to know?"

And so Sora asked everything that had been plaguing his mind and learned some new vocabulary. The black-and-white pin he had was called a "Player Pin," and was used to "scan" people's thoughts. At first, the thought of it shocked Sora, but when he recalled what had happened earlier he began to get a grasp on it, and Neku promised to help him "get a grip on it" later. The pin was also used to imprint messages into people's minds, which explained how the Organization had wormed its way into Sora's head (Neku seemed to shift in his seat when that was mentioned). When the question of the pact came up, Hanekoma explained that everyone needed a partner for the game, and that without one, no one could survive the game.

"You have to trust your partner," He explained. "Whether he's a criminal or not, and even if you hate your partner you still have to trust him. Otherwise, you'll be erased. That's why the first mission is to get to 104. You're chased by noise right off the bat, and you can't go to 104 because the wall there will keep you from moving forward."

"Wall?" Sora echoed.

"The Reapers that run this game put up walls so you can't go to certain areas sometimes," Hanekoma replied. "In your first mission, the wall between the scramble and 104 won't go down unless you've made a pact. Anyone who doesn't make a pact by the time the timer is up will be erased. That, or they might be erased by the noise before they even get a chance."

"So you have to make a pact fast," Neku added. "In this game, it's either open up or get picked off."

Just then, the bell over the door jingled and a boy entered the store. "Sorry I'm late, Mr. H," he said. "I got held up a bit."

"Not a problem, Josh!" Mr. H called. "Sora's already here."

Sora stared at the boy with wide eyes. He had nearly white-colored hair, and a familiar gray and black outfit on. Pale blue eyes glanced around before settling on Sora. The boy grinned. "Oh, you made it. I was hoping you would."

The keyblade master, however, didn't share the sentiment. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and he glared at the boy. This was the very same boy that had threatened to shoot him in the alley. What was he doing here?


	4. Scanning

Here's chapter four! Chapter 5 is the start of day two, and there's a surprise in store for Sora...

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Four: Scanning**

* * *

Even though he had long since gotten over the fact that Joshua had been the one to send him into the Reaper's Game the first time, Neku still hadn't forgiven him. He did, however, trust him, but the music-loving introvert couldn't say the same for Sora. Neku clenched his fist and glared at Joshua, doing his best not to shout a snide remark. Why the composer had to be someone so disgustingly egotistical?

"You're that kid I met in the alley!" Sora said, his eyes wide. "You and that weirdo in the black outfit…"

Joshua gave his trademark laugh and shoved some of his hair out of his face. "I really _must_ apologize," he said smugly. "It was a slight miscalculation on my part, but now that you're here this _might_ get easier for _all_ of us."

_Snot,_ Neku thought, glaring at Joshua. "Quit beating around the bush, Josh," he said, his patience already running thin. "Just tell us what we're here for. We've already cleared our mission, but we only have so long until we get to pass out until tomorrow."

Sora looked about ready to comment, but Joshua thankfully interrupted and saved Neku the trouble of answering the umpteenth question that day. "It's Yoshiya Kiryu. You can call me Joshua." His smirk faded and he crossed his arms, taking on a serious tone that was rare for him. "Mr. H met with someone weird the other day. He was telling us about dark creatures that kept appearing everywhere."

"At first we thought this guy was referring to the taboo noise left over from when Minamimoto tried to wreck the game," Mr. H added, "But when some of the creatures he described showed up and attacked us we figured out pretty quick that they _weren't_ noise."

"Dark creatures," Sora echoed. Neku glanced over and saw him deeply contemplating something, and judging by how the boy screwed his eyebrows, it was something _very_ important.

"This guy told us to find some sort of key," Joshua continued, "And he gave us a hint. We were going to wait until the game started and get the players to help us out with it, but when Neku got in that accident I thought we might get a head start on looking for him."

"And that _hint_ was the meme you gave me?" Neku asked. "The one about some organization?"

"Wait a sec," Sora interrupted. "By organization, would you happen to be referring to Organization XIII?"

Neku nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Sora shook his head. "I'll tell you later. Keep going."

"There's not much else to say, really," Mr. H said. "Only that the so-called key is the only thing capable of getting rid of this threat. The meme we sent out would have really worked on anyone, Neku, but its _real_ purpose was whether or not the person you imprinted it on would recognize it."

"And Sora recognized it," Neku concluded. He glanced at Sora. "So, what _is _Organization XIII?"

Sora sighed, sitting back. Apparently, he wasn't fond of the subject. "They're basically a group of incomplete people who want to be whole. They may sound like a good enough group, but they try to pull off their goals in some pretty twisted ways. If you ever see any of them, it's in your best interest not to trust them. They usually run around wearing black trenchcoats, so they're not hard to spot."

"We'll keep that in mind," Joshua grumbled, eager to get back on the subject. "Neku, Sora, we're pretty sure that Minamimoto is behind all this, but getting rid of him probably won't get rid of those monsters."

"Let me take a wild guess," Neku began, disgruntled, "And say you want me and Sora to get rid of these things for you."

"Very good!" Joshua said in mock praise. "That's _precisely_ what I need you to do. Of course, Sora's going to be the one that _really_ gets rid of them."

Sora gave Joshua what appeared to be a death glare. While Neku noticed that the expression was rather out of place on Sora, the sentiment was rather powerful. "Then why are you dragging Neku into this?" Sora demanded. "There's no sense in getting him hurt, too."

At this comment, Neku was taken by surprise. Sora wasn't that experienced with the Reaper's Game, sure, but no one had _ever_ been that thoughtful about him, especially since he was practically a stranger to the newer player. Either he was thoughtful...or he just didn't want Neku in his way. Somehow, however, Neku got the feeling that Sora wasn't the type to go for the latter of the two reasons. He just didn't seem that way. _He sort of reminds me of Beat,_ Neku mused, _Only he doesn't put up the 'tough facade.'_

"You're in the UG," Mr. H reminded them. "We'd bend the rules for you if we could, but we can't. Neku's in this whether any of us want that or not. Besides, the monsters aren't in the RG, so this is the only place where they can be dealt with. We should all be thankful that they're not in the real Shibuya wreaking havoc and probably killing people."

Neku saw Hanekoma's point right off. While he didn't particularly agree with the whole reaper's game being woven into the whole mess, the monsters were only in the UG, and Sora's mission was to keep them from working their way up.

"Since the rules still apply, you need a partner for the game," Mr. H continued. "You can't survive without a partner, and without a partner you can't complete the missions or fight the noise, either."

"So that's why," Sora muttered. Again, Neku found his curiosity rising, but he made a fist and pushed back the urge to ask about it.

"We were worried we wouldn't get any decent players this round," Joshua said. "Luckily, Neku showed up when he did, so we made arrangements to wake up all the other players much later so you two were a fixed pair."

_Getting killed isn't supposed to be an event to celebrate,_ Neku grumbled angrily in his mind before speaking up. "The only reason it's fortunate is because Sora needed a decent partner."

"You're one of the best players the game's ever had," Hanekoma pointed out. "If you two can't get us out of this mess, no one can."

Neku had no disagreement with that statement. Grudgingly, he cast a glance at Sora, whom had eagerly taken in the information. Something about that kid just came off _right_. They had something in common, Neku knew it. Sora simply gave off a good vibe. Whatever it was, Neku felt like he could trust the boy. _It's kind of weird, actually,_ he thought. _I don't think anyone's rubbed off on me like that since I met Hanekoma…_

Casting the question aside, Neku returned to the conversation with a hint more enthusiasm. He made a mental note to talk with Sora a bit more once they had some free time.

* * *

Cid swore and slammed his fist on the side of his keyboard. For an entire day, he had been trying to reach Sora, but the keyblade master wasn't answering. The signal was still going through, but there was simply no answer.

"Not getting anything, I'm guessing?" Yuffie asked. The young ninja was currently going through an absurdly high pile of papers in the corner, and had paused when Cid had his outburst.

"Still nothin'," the engineer replied. "Just a few minutes ago, he was talking to me like normal. Now, he just isn't picking up. Something's wrong."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes. "It's not like Sora to just not answer," she said. "He knows how to send a distress signal. If he was in trouble, he'd do it."

"Unless something got to him before he could," Leon said, striding in the door with his gunblade over his shoulder.

"Don't say that!" Yuffie cried. "You're going to jinx it…"

"There's no jinxing it if it already happened," Leon protested calmly and coldly. "I just got back from the king's place. I've got some pretty bad news for you guys…"

* * *

By now, Sora had figured out why he couldn't summon the keyblade earlier. In this "Reaper's Game"…whatever it was…he was helpless unless he had a partner. The keyblade was probably bound by the rules as well, and he couldn't summon it until he made a pact. While he was thankful that now he had someone helping him out, Sora couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right. The feeling only got worse as he continued on, and for the first time Sora simply couldn't shake it off.

The two had left the café with a warning that they had only two hours until the game would be ready to proceed. Neku had apparently decided that, with that time, he would teach Sora to use his player pin. When Sora asked why, the boy rolled his eyes and said, "You could go deaf or insane if you prefer that instead." After having gotten over the boy's bluntness, the two stood in the center of Cat Street.

"Isn't someone going to see us and think we're nuts?" Sora asked.

"Only other players will see us," Neku replied, "And they won't be waking up until about an hour from now. When you're in the UG, you can see everything in the RG, but the RG can't see anything in the UG. It's sort of like one of those one-way windows."

_Simple enough,_ Sora thought. "But this pin scans people's thoughts, right?" Sora asked. "Does it scan everyone?"

"Everyone but other players," Neku stated. "Basically, if you don't have a player pin, you can't get scanned, so don't worry about scanning me. You can't scan reapers or the games' officials, either."

"How do you know?" Sora asked.

"I tried before," Neku replied, his voice stiff. "It just doesn't work."

Sora shrugged. "I guess that'd do it. So, how do I do this?"

Neku pulled out his own pin. "It'd probably be easier if I did it first so you can see."

As he watched, Sora saw Neku pull his headphones up over his ears, his pin still in his hand. A pulse quickly swept through the air and he held both hands just over where his ears were hidden behind his headset. For a few moments, Neku stood stock-still, eyes closed and hands hovering in one spot. Sora blinked several times, staring in awe at the boy's concentration, before the silence finally broke again. Neku opened his eyes and pushed his headphones back "There. Not very hard."

"When the pin worked for me I thought I'd go deaf," Sora commented. "How can you just stand there with all that sound?!"

"Practice," Neku replied simply. "Three weeks of it. The thoughts on someone's mind are a lot like the channels on the radio. You can tune in using this pin and hear what they are. If you're not good at scanning you end up listening to everyone at once. I don't think I need to tell you what kind of headache you'll get from that."

Sora nodded, remembering what had happened when he accidentally activated his player pin just hours ago. "I'm pretty sure I already know."

Neku nodded. "Your turn," he said. "As long as you can keep your focus and not panic, you should be fine. If it gets to be too much for you, don't be afraid to pull out."

"Okay," Sora replied, pulling out the pin from his pocket. _Well, here goes. Focus, Sora. Focus._ Clutching the pin in his hand, he closed his eyes and felt a somewhat familiar sensation emanating from the pin in his hand. All at once, the voices began to enter his mind.

_Omigosh, the whole world can see my-_

_The prince updated his blog! I can't wait to go home and read it._

_When is that movie coming on? I should go set my recorder at home…_

_I'm so jealous; my friend got a copy of Final Mix right when they sold out! Maybe he'll let me play it…_

Sora winced initially and grit his teeth as tight as he could. _Come on, Sora. FOCUS!_ Sora clutched one hand into a tight fist, directing his thoughts into a narrow stream. Finally, he was able to look at a single person's thoughts without bouncing to another.

_Hmm…did I lock my door when I left the apartment? The more I think about it, the more it worries me. Maybe I should go back and check, but it's a two-hour round trip…_

Almost sighing in relief, Sora went to someone else's thoughts and focused on them.

_My book is ready to publish, finally! I just need to find someone to do the cover art, and I'll be ready! The problem is, I don't know the first thing about publishing…oh, well, I can look it up on the internet when I get home._

He moved on to the next.

_Yeesh, that guy in the herb shop is such a jerk. What's the point in selling medicine if yo-KKKKRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSHHHH!_

Sora's eyes snapped open at the unexpected static sound that assaulted his mental eardrums. His vision around him was surrounded by three red, pulsating symbols much like the ones he had seen the previous day. The area around them flashed and dimmed, the static clamor echoing about and the people disappearing. Neku backed against Sora, fumbling in his pocket. "Noise!" he cried. "I hope you can fight, Sora!"

_So that's why they're called noise,_ the keyblade master observed, grudgingly recalling the static he had heard. "You bet I can!" he cried as the symbols formed into large kangaroos. Neku let loose a stream of lightning while Sora summoned the keyblade and smashed into another. Neku recoiled back and summoned what appeared to be a sphere of energy in his hand, but Sora saw a car glow with the same color as the energy and suddenly hurl itself across the street to crush the opposing monster.

The remaining noise made a lunge for Neku, but Sora leapt on top of it and strangled it with the shaft of the keyblade, toppling it over before rolling to the side. With a cry, Neku sent a stream of white bullets soaring through the air and slamming into the kangaroo, demolishing it. The area around the two brightened again, and the people resumed their business as normal. Sora and Neku both weren't particularly gasping for breath, but they were a bit surprised. "You okay?" Sora asked.

"Just a few kangaroo noise," Neku replied. "They're not that hard to deal with. How about you?"

"I've fought worse," Sora replied, standing. "Where'd they come from? I remember scanning and suddenly a bunch of static wormed its way into my head."

"Noise won't attack unprovoked if you make a pact," Neku said. "But they will come in through a scan if you're not careful. Taboo noise don't necessarily follow that rule, though." He stretched his arms and took a deep breath. "Wanna try again?"

"We've only got ten minutes left for today," Sora pointed out, checking his phone for the time (and still wondering how he even got one in the first place). "I think by the time I'm able to focus again we'll have our next mission up and running."

"Good point," Neku said, eyeing the keyblade. "But as long as we're standing here, could you tell me what _that_ is?"

"It's the keyblade," Sora replied, deciding to be straightforward. When he had visited some other worlds, he tried to hide the keyblade to help keep order, but in this place such a thing didn't seem to foreign. _I can always leave out the specifics on what it is, anyway,_ he thought.

"Fitting name," Neku observed. "Is it your psych?"

Sora blinked. "Excuse me?"

"What you use to fight noise with."

"Oh…yeah, it is."

Neku crossed his arms. "Kinda weird. I had some weird partners in my last three games. A stuffed animal, a cell phone, and a skateboard…this is the first time I've seen anyone use anything remotely similar to a weapon."

"What do _you_ use?" Sora asked.

"Pins," Neku replied shortly, holding forward a small button similar to the player pin. This one was red with a graffiti-like flame picture drawn on it. "All players have to use pins one way or another to channel their psyche to be able to fight the noise. Certain ones only work for certain people."

"Weird," Sora said. "I didn't use any."

For the first time, Sora saw Neku's eyes widen. "You didn't use a single pin?"

Sora shook his head. "No. Just the keyblade."

"That's strange," Neku replied. "I've always been able to use just about any pin thrown at me, but no one else seems to be able to do that. Some people can only use one or two. For you to not use _any_ and be so good at this…where are you from, anyway?"

The question caused Sora to freeze. He had hardly ever been asked that, and it was always a touchy subject for him, world order being kept or not. "…eh?"

"You've got to be from somewhere in Tokyo," Neku said, "And I know you're not from Shibuya. Shinjuku, maybe? Are you from there?"

"Er…no," Sora replied. "I'm not from anywhere in Tokyo. I'm not from anywhere remotely close to here. I'm from a chain of islands in the ocean."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Neku replied. "You fit into a big city like this _perfectly_."

Sora shrugged. "I've gone to tons of places. I just learned to adapt after a while, that's all."

Neku then gave Sora a funny look. Whether it was suspicion, disbelief, disappointment, or something similar, it was hard to tell. Eventually, however, Neku turned around and rubbed his shoulder casually. "Come on. We're probably going to be out of time in a few minutes. We should at least be ready for whatever day two throws at us, whether it's easy or not."

Nodding, Sora followed Neku toward the park. The foreboding feeling hanging about him still wouldn't leave, and Sora was finding it harder and harder to ignore as the moments passed by. Something was wrong…something was _very_ wrong…and he knew it had nothing to do with heartless or nobodies. _I just hope I can find out what it is before it's used against me…_

* * *

Hmm! I wonder what that foreboding feeling is...?


	5. Cleanup Duty

Okay, the surprise Sora gets isn't in this chapter...but it'll come! I promise!

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Five: Clean-up Duty  
**

* * *

Sora yawned and stretched. On a typical day, he wasn't a morning person, but his adventures to the different worlds had changed that pretty quickly. It was hard to sleep in Shibuya, anyway…there were plenty of sounds to keep him from nodding off. Glancing around, Sora noticed that they were in what appeared to be some sort of concert area. He could barely see a thing. Standing, Sora spotted Neku not far away, looking toward the exit of the tunnel they were in and crossing his arms. He seemed upset about something.

_I'd be upset if I were him too,_ Sora mused. _After all, he died a few days ago. He's never going to be able to see his friends again._ He paused a moment, considering the fact. Sora had fought alongside a dead person once before, and it hadn't been all that strange. Even so, something was simply different about Neku. He was a lot younger, and he certainly hadn't been summoned out of the underworld to do someone else's bidding.

Neku must have noticed Sora waking up, as he grunted quietly and and turned to him. "About time you woke up," he said. "The mission hasn't come yet."

Rubbing the palm of his hand unconsciously and noticing there was no burning sensation, Sora nodded. "So, what do we do for now?"

"Not much to do," Neku replied. "For starters, though, we could try getting past that wall."

Sora glanced over to where Neku was gesturing to and did a double-take. "What wall?" he asked. "I don't see anything."

"Trust me," Neku said. "There's a wall there."

"All I see is the street outside," Sora protested calmly.

Neku shrugged. "Don't believe me? Go see for yourself."

Sora rolled his eyes and began forward. He was about to call back to Neku and say that there was indeed no wall when he slammed into something. Shocked, he stumbled backward onto his rear and stared at the world in front of him. There was a brief pattern of hexagons that rippled in the air before fading, leaving the street looking just as normal as before. "What the…"

"Told you," Neku replied. "There's a wall. They do this in the game."

"So there's an invisible wall," Sora grumbled, standing on his feet. "What now?"

Neku sighed. "We get rid of it," he said. "The problem is, I don't see a Reaper anywhere around here. Usually they tell us what objectives to meet to clear the wall, and once you reach them they use a keypin to take the wall down. Usually the objective is to clean up the noise in the area or something."

Sora eyed the place where the wall was with suspicion. "Can't we just break it?"

"No," Neku replied, groaning. "Only something insanely powerful can. A psyche probably could, but you can only use those when you're fighting noise…" he paused thoughtfully. "…well, you can use psycho-kinesis to an extent, but I doubt that'd do much."

With a quick thought, Sora summoned the keyblade and searched the wall for any sign of a keyhole. He glanced at Neku, whom was busy looking the other way at what appeared to be a tangled mess of barbed wire further down the tunnel. _If psyches can be used out of battle, it must count for the keyblade, too. I've used it plenty of times for more than just fighting…_ Tilting his head curiously, he fingered the handle of the weapon. The tip flashed, and a small keyhole appeared. Grinning, Sora pointed the keyblade at the hole as he had done so many times before. A stream of light emerged from the weapon and surged into the hole in the invisible wall. An audible _click_ was heard, and the hexagons rippled in the air, shattering and falling to the ground like glass before vaporizing. Quickly, Sora dismissed the keyblade.

The sound caught Neku's attention, and he spun around. "What happened?!" he cried.

"The wall going away happened," Sora replied.

"No way," Neku said, eyes wide. "Only a keypin can open those…unless you meet the objectives a Reaper gives you, then he uses _his_ keypin to open it…"

A familiar beeping reached their ears. Shaking his head, Neku pulled out his phone and flipped it open. "Looks like we got today's mission."

"What's it say?" Sora asked.

Neku stared at his phone. "'Defeat the king of shadows. You have 120 minutes. Fail, and face erasure."

On cue, the burning sensation embedded itself into Sora's hand. Both Neku and Sora winced. "Timer's back," Sora mumbled. "Who's this king of shadows?"

"I got a mission like this in my first game," Neku said. "We had to get the electricity working again and defeat some bat noise. We would have failed if some other players hadn't come when they did. I don't think there's a bat involved this time, though"

"We've got two hours," Sora said. "That gives us plenty of time to figure this out."

"We could figure this out over a bowl of ramen," Neku suggested. "Ramen Don isn't very far from here."

Sora grinned and nodded. "Are we allowed to go in?"

"Yeah. There's always a reaper decal outside, so it's UG-friendly."

The two stepped outside and headed into the streets, passing downward past a few shops. Along the way, Sora noticed Neku pulling out a blank pin. "What's that?" he asked.

"Mr. H gave it to me when I cane to the game for the first time," Neku replied. "It's blank now, but if you're synced with your partner you can use it as a psych. I haven't seen any other players with one, though."

"Whoever made this game sure was heavy on the whole partner thing," Sora commented.

Neku snickered almost humorlessly. "He sure was," he said, "But I don't think we'll ever know why."

"What's with syncing, though?" Sora asked. "And what does the pin do when you _are_ synced?"

"Amazing things," Neku replied vaguely, a hint of a smile on his face. "It works like another pin psych, but it takes two people to use. It's really powerful; I've seen waves of noise get wiped out when I use this thing."

Sora nodded, remembering when he had cooperated with some of his other allies in a similar way. Sometimes they had fought literally side-by-side – when paired up with Riku, he was a force to be reckoned with – and other times he had used his drive techniques to combine powers. For Neku to have a similar power certainly did surprise him, but it didn't leave him in the dark as to what it meant.

"Here it is," Neku said, jolting Sora from his thoughts. "Ramen Don. It's a great ramen shop; don't let the smell fool you."

Nodding, Sora walked into the store behind Neku and almost gagged. Indeed, the smell was terrible. It took him a few moments to adjust, which thankfully wasn't difficult. Neku took a spot at the bar and Sora followed, just getting comfortable as a voice reached his ears.

"Irasshai!"

"Hi Mr. Doi," Neku said. "How's business?"

A man in a white apron and a blue headband showed up behind the counter. Upon seeing Neku, he grinned. "Ah, Neku! It's been a while. Ever since you and Joshua helped me out, I've been getting plenty of customers! Ah…who's this?"

"This is Sora," Neku replied. "He's from out of town, so I'm showing him around a bit. We've got some errands to run, but we squeezed in just enough time to come get some ramen before we run off again."

_He's pretty good at this,_ Sora noted. _He and Joshua helped this guy out? I'll have to hear about that._

"Good to hear you're doing alright," Doi replied, the grin still on his face. "What'll you have today?"

"I'll just have the usual," Neku replied. "How 'bout you, Sora?"

Sora glanced at the menu on the wall briefly. "I'll get whatever Neku's getting," he said after a few moments' consideration.

"Right!" Doi said, heading back to the kitchen. "Two shoyu ramen, coming up!"

Once the man was safely out of earshot, Sora leaned toward Neku. "Are you sure about this?" He asked. "Aren't we on a time limit?"

"We've got plenty of time to figure out the mission," Neku replied, smiling. "Besides, Mr. Doi cooks really-"

"Here you are!"

"…fast."

Sora still wasn't quite sure about what Neku had said. Sure, figuring out the mission was all fine and dandy, but what had his mind buzzing at the moment was the ramen he was about to eat. The moment the plate was set in front of him, however, he instinctively picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. To his absolute surprise, the ramen was delicious, and he couldn't help but dig in. Next to him, Neku was doing much the same.

"So, who do you think this king of shadows is?" Sora asked.

"Dunno," Neku replied. "We'll probably get a hint at some point though. That's how it usually goes. We've been given two hours to figure out who he is, find him, and get rid of him. Maybe we'll be given a bit of leeway afterward so we can look into those dark monsters or whatever that Hanekoma was telling us about."

"Dark monsters," Sora echoed. He knew of only one kind of black monster that would get him sent to another world to investigate: heartless. This world seemed to have its own problems with noise and the Reaper's Game.

"You know something about them, don't you?"

Sora felt himself go rigid. Neku was staring at him with narrow eyes. "Wha…you know?" he asked. _Wow…he's pretty smart._

Neku shrugged. "When Hanekoma mentioned 'dark creatures' yesterday, you kinda went quiet, even though you weren't given any real explanation or details. You know something. Spill the beans."

_I guess I can tell him a little bit,_ Sora decided, sighing. "They're called heartless," he replied. "They're basically the darkness in someone's heart made real. I've had to fight them for two years, and they always keep coming."

"No wonder you're so good at fighting noise," Neku commented, slurping a bit more ramen. "You've had a lot more practice defending yourself than I have."

Sora shook his head. "I really just hope sometime it'll all end. I can't keep fighting forever. But even though it's put me through some rough times, I've met so many friends and I've done so many things I couldn't have done otherwise. I wouldn't trade anything for it."

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Neku said, standing. "Well, I've cleaned my plate. You ready to get going?"

"Yeah," Sora replied, nodding.

"Leaving already?" Doi said.

"'fraid so," Neku replied, tossing some coins onto the counter. "Keep the change."

Doi grinned. "Thanks, Neku!" he said. "Come back soon!"

Neku waved back cheerfully. "Count on it!" He said, walking out the door.

As Sora followed, giving his own farewells before he exited, he shot a curious glance to Neku. "Doesn't he know that you're dead?" he asked.

"I honestly don't know," Neku replied. "If he does, he probably thinks it's another Neku Sakuraba that's dead. I'm not exactly a celebrity in the RG, you know."

Sora was about to reply when his skin prickled with a familiar sensation. Summoning the keyblade, Sora spun around to find a small group of creatures behind him. His eyes widened when he recognized them as Neoshadow heartless. "Looks like we've got company," he said, narrowing his eyes and summoning the keyblade.

Neku quickly picked up on Sora's comment and noticed the enemies approaching. "I think we found our dark creatures," he said. "These _are_ Heartless, right, Sora?"

"Yeah," Sora replied. "Get ready!"

"I don't know if I can fight them!" Neku cried. "We're not in a noise zone!"

Sora didn't have time to ask what a noise zone was. Two of the Neoshadows lunged forward, and he dispatched them with relative ease. He saw a few more approaching Neku and batted them away as well. Neku flung a few more away with psychokinesis, slamming them into walls and causing them to vanish into dark mist. The two remaining neoshadows began to flee, but Neku was faster, and they quickly found themselves crushed beneath a truck.

With the area now clear, Sora groaned. "Neoshadows are a pain in the neck," he grumbled.

"They're called Neoshadows?" Neku asked, his eyes lighting up all of the sudden.

"Yeah," Sora replied. "The weaker versions are just shadows, and there are stronger ones called da…wait a sec, why do you need to know?"

"Don't you get it?" Neku said excitedly. "The mission is to get rid of the source of these things!"

"But that doesn't make sense," Sora pondered. "The source of the heartless is the darkness in people's hearts. The mission said the '_king_ of shadows, not the source."

Neku furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "You're right. Maybe it just wants us to beat a really strong or really big heartless…but why use heartless? The reapers usually only use noise."

"Whoever's running this game must be using the heartless," Sora said. "Either that, or the heartless are using him."

"Or the Composer could be using the _players_ to get _rid_ of the heartless," Neku replied. "Any idea on a strong or powerful heartless, Sora?"

Sora looked upward in thought. "There are tons of big and powerful ones. If it specifically means shadows, then I think I know which one it's referring to. All we need to do is lure it out…"

"They're attracted to the darkness in people's hearts," Neku repeated. "Are they attracted to just plain darkness, too?"

"I think so," Sora replied. "Why?"

Neku grinned. "I think I know the perfect place."

* * *

"What do you mean, they've gone missing?!"

Leon nodded. "It's exactly what it sounds like," he repeated. "The king, his servants, Riku _and_ Kairi have all vanished…at the _same time_."

"This is way too much to be a coincidence," Yuffie said, pacing a groove in the floor. "For it to happen so close to the time Sora stopped responding to our calls…"

Aerith, whom was standing quietly nearby, shook her head silently. "I have a bad feeling about this…something must have happened to Sora on the mission he took up, but the situation in that world wasn't all that difficult."

"Which makes it all the more suspicious," Cid grumbled. "Leon, you and Yuffie need to get to the bottom of this. Take the Excalibur and head over to Shibuya. Make sure you find out what happened to Sora and report anything you find to us immediately."

"On it," Leon replied. "Come on, Yuffie. Let's make this quick."

* * *

"You weren't kidding when you said it was dark in here," Sora said. "I can barely see a thing."

Neku grinned. He and Sora had headed back to A-East, the concert stage where they had started out. Their eyes were still adjusting to the light, but Sora had told Neku that they didn't have long before the heartless would appear.

"Can you tell me anything about this king of shadows we're expecting?" Neku asked. "Is it supposed to be some sort of giant?"

"If it's what I think it is," Sora replied, "Then it probably will be. I was once told that the closer you are to light, the greater your shadow becomes…that's when I first saw it. I've never forgotten it since then."

Neku gave Sora an odd look. _Pretty true…but still, that's an odd proverb. _"Who told you something like that?"

Sora shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "It was this voice that came out of nowhere." Sora paused, chuckling oddly. "You probably wouldn't believe me, but it was in this weird dream I had. I was running around along these stained glass platforms, and there was a voice guiding me… A few days after that, the heartless appeared and overran my home. At the time, it was all just a big blur, but now that it's already happened, I remember every last detail."

When Sora stopped talking, Neku suddenly found the area unnaturally silent. What the boy had said had struck him oddly. _A strange dream had shown him this monster? And the way he talked about the heartless appearing for the first time…he says he's fought them for years, but why? Maybe the reason has something to do with why he doesn't seem to like talking about it…_

A low whirr reached their ears. Sora took a battle-ready stance and summoned the keyblade. "It's here," he whispered. "Neku, get the lights!"

Neku, not bothering to ask Sora _how_ he knew the creature had arrived, did so. When he did, what he saw was enormous. It was much like the Neoshadows they had encountered moments before, only this one was much, much larger. Its head, rather than simply having two straight antennae, was wrapped up in a mess of what looked like hair. Two eerie, glowing yellow eyes stared back down at the two, and there was a gargantuan heart-shaped cavity in the monster's middle. Neku, shocked, stumbled backward. "_This_ is the king of shadows?!" he cried, noting on the side that Sora didn't seem the least bit surprised.

"Yep," Sora said, his eyes narrowed and the keyblade at ready. "We call him Darkside for short. His hands are the easiest weak spots to get to, but if one of us can climb up one of his arms and get to his head, he should be easy pickings.

_He sounds sure of himself,_ Neku noticed. _He must have fought this thing before…_

The creature reached back a fist and pounded it into the ground, with Sora and Neku dodging out of the way just in time. A dark pool appeared, spreading outward, and Neku saw smaller, weaker versions of the neoshadows appearing from it. "I'll take care of the small fry!" Neku cried. "Can you get up near his head?"

"On it!" Sora cried, leaping on top of Darkside's fist and running up its arm.

Neku returned his focus to the shadows and unleashed a trail of flame at them. Unlike the Neoshadows, the smaller shadows were gone in a single hit. Unfortunately, more appeared to replace them. _Damn it! Do these things ever stop coming?!_

Glancing upward momentarily, Neku saw Sora deftly running up the giant's arm, keyblade over his shoulder. Satisfied that his friend was doing well enough, the music-loving player returned his attention to the shadows, finding that the pool of darkness was gone, leaving the shadows to attack him. Quickly disposing them with a few blades of wind, Neku was about to begin attacking the monster's hand when Darkside began to stand again. Now that Neku was closer, he had a much better idea of how tall this beast really was, and it wasn't very comforting.

There was a cry of shock, and Neku watched as Sora grabbed onto a stray strand of Darkside's "hair," relinquishing his grip on the keyblade in favor of keeping his position. The weapon clattered to the ground. _Is he stupid?! He gave up his psyche just to stay near the weak point!_ "Sora! You okay?"

"I'll be fine!" the brunette yelled. "Just stay focused!"

Neku nodded. _For starters,_ he thought, _I should probably toss him the keyblade. He can't fight without a psych. _But as Neku ran forward to give Sora back his keyblade, he found that the weapon had vanished. There was no time to do a double-take when the beast knelt down onto its knees and spread its arms outward, forming a sphere of white energy. There was a burst, and three smaller beams traveled outward, all three centered on Neku. He leapt out of the way of the first two, but the third slammed into his back and sent him stumbling. Scrambling to his feet, he looked upward to see that Sora was climbing back onto Darkside's shoulder, keyblade in hand. Neku's eyes widened. _Wait a sec…I thought he dropped it!_

There was another energy burst, and Neku quickly decided that the matter was best left unexplained for now. He quickly threw out another aero blade and struck the incoming beams of energy, deflecting them in another direction. Above, he heard Sora cry out, and looked up just in time to see the boy stab the giant in the head with his oversized key. The air rumbled as it would have if the beast bellowed out in agony, but no sound came. Sora leapt down, and the creature vanished, a glowing, heart-shaped object floating upward and vanishing.

Neku glanced down at his hands, and the timer vanished. "Mission accomplished," he said.

Sora landed on the ground, placing the keyblade on his shoulder. "Nice work, Neku."

_That's one I don't get every day,_ Neku thought. He grinned. "Sora, did you intentionally give yourself the hard part?"

"Eh?" Sora replied, blinking. "Well, it's not necessarily the hard part…it's just a lot more dangerous. Falling from that height isn't exactly good for your health."

"You stuck your landing just fine," Neku pointed out. "What, do you fall from tall buildings on a regular basis, too?"

Sora shook his head. "No. I've just had to adapt to moving around like that."

_He's using that word again. Definitely hiding something. If I'm going to get any answers out of him, now's my chance. _"You adapt to a lot of things, Sora. Does the rest of your group have to do that, too?"

Sora froze. "The rest of my group?" he echoed.

Neku rolled his eyes. "Earlier you said 'we.' Are there more people like you?"

Sora hesitated, eyes wide. "Ah…well… Not really. There's a group of us that try to keep the heartless under control. I'm the newest one in the group. Everyone else has a lot more experience fighting them than me, but they consider me to be their most valuable member."

"Why?" Neku asked, suspicious. "Because you use an oversized key for a weapon? A key that just happens to disappear on its own?"

At his words, Sora's eyes widened considerably. _Bingo,_ Neku thought, doing his best to hold back a victorious smirk. _I'm definitely onto something. He's got secrets, but he's a lot easier to crack than Joshua._

Sora scrambled for his words. "Ah, well…you see…" Finally, he sighed. "Look, Neku, I'd like to tell you everything, but I'd be breaking the rules."

This caught Neku by surprise. "Rules?" He asked. "What rules? We're in the Reaper's Game."

"There are other rules I'm following than just this game," Sora said. "The heartless can thrive a lot easier when there's chaos. The rules I'm following keep order in the places I visit. Break those rules, and in comes the chaos. Someone I knew – my best friend – broke one of those rules. He didn't mean to, but he did. Because of that, my home was overrun by heartless. I'm not letting that happen again. _Ever_."

Neku scowled inwardly. _Damn. If only I could scan him, I could get some answers!_ Even through his frustration, he kept his cool. "Must have been a hell of a cleanup job for an island to be run over by those things," he said sarcastically.

Sora's gaze narrowed dangerously. "Neku, when a place is overrun with heartless, it's _completely destroyed_; and the people that live there usually disappear with it."

Neku paused. "What…?"

"When my home was attacked by heartless," Sora began, anger in his tone, "I couldn't do a thing to stop them, even when I found the keyblade. My home just _vanished_, and my friends were gone too. I was lucky enough to end up in a place where someone was willing to help me, but…" The boy turned away. "Nevermind. I'm sure you're not interested in hearing me rant."

_Wow,_ Neku thought. _No wonder he's been hiding it. I'd be touchy about it too if Shibuya were to just vanish in front of me. Even when it sucks, it's still your home._ "Sorry," Neku said. There wasn't much emotion in his voice, as he wasn't used to actually caring about other people, but he meant it.

Sora shook his head. "It's not your fault. You didn't know. I'm the one that should be apologizing… You probably went through some rough stuff before you died, didn't you? I'm sure you'd be kind of iffy when you talk about it."

_He doesn't know he's dead, does he?_ Neku thought. _He thinks Joshua only knocked him out…_ He shook his head. "My life sucked. I hated people in general, so I only had one friend. He died not too long ago, and I blamed myself for it for a long time. After I went through three weeks straight of the Reaper's Game, my look on life kind of changed. A lot happened in those three weeks…" Neku paused suddenly. _Why am I talking about this? More importantly, why am I talking so comfortably about it with Sora? The last time anyone ever did this to me was when I met Hanekoma._

"And this is your fourth week?" Sora asked. "Man, that's got to be terrible."

"I beat the Reaper's game each time," Neku said. "And by beating it I mean I survived it. I'm only here a fourth time on accident, and while I'd rather not go through this crap again, this time I'm doing it for more than just myself."

Sora paused, looking upward. "Come to think of it, what do you actually get when you beat this game?" he asked. "What's the grand prize? More importantly, what happens when you lose?"

"You pay an entry fee to get into this game," Neku explained. "If you don't make it, you lose your entry fee as well as…" He paused, looking for the right words. "…well, you also lose the right to even exist."

"Reaper's Game indeed," Sora scowled. "Who'd want to play a game like this?"

Neku grit his teeth. "Everyone comes for the same reason: a second chance. That's what the prize is if you win."

Sora looked like he was about to respond when a sick look came to his face, and he rubbed his arms as though he were shivering. Cocking an eyebrow, Neku put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, Sora?"

"No," the boy replied. "I don't feel so good. Something just feels…different. A really, really _bad_ different. I don't know what it is, but I don't like it…"

"Heh, heh, heh."

Neku scowled. He knew that voice anywhere. He and Sora raced outside to see none other than Sho Minamimoto standing before them, a grand smirk on his face and the familiar whirr of taboo noise surrounding him. "Fancy meeting _you_ here, Pi-face," Neku growled.

"Pie face?" Sora echoed.

"Well, if it isn't the proxy!" Minamimoto said grandly. "And the factoring hectopascal from the alley!"

Sora blinked. "Hecto-what?"

"He's making fun of you," Neku grumbled, "By using math."

"So you subtracted some of my heartless!" The math-loving reaper shouted. "Big deal! I can always make more."

"And we can always get rid of them," Sora shot back. "If you think you're so tough, get over here and fight us yourself! Stop hiding behind others to do the work for you!"

Minamimoto rolled his eyes. "Stupid zeros." He raced forward at Sora at a blindingly fast speed, slamming into him from the front. "SINE!"

Sora flew into the air from the impact. Minamimoto, however, wasn't done, and ran at him again, clawing at his back and sending him up further. "COSINE!"

There was a black blur and Sora was sent tumbling downward, crashing into the ground. "TANGENT!"

Neku raced over to Sora to see if he was alright. Thankfully, he was, but he was badly bruised. Sora pushed himself up to a sitting position, wincing in pain but still giving Minamimoto a death glare. "You piece of…"

But the math geek only laughed at him. "For the legendary keyblade master, you're not as tough as I thought you'd be!"

"Keyblade master?" Neku echoed. "Legendary?"

Sora's eyes widened. "Who told you about that?!"

Minamimoto laughed. "Who gives a digit? You yoctograms don't have a right to know! Now, do me a favor and beat it."

"Why should we?" Neku protested.

But Minamimoto didn't answer. Instead, he simply left, leaving the two with only an echoing laugh.

Sora scowled, scrambling to his feet. "Get back here!"

Neku, however, didn't move. _I knew Sora was hiding something, but something _this_ big? What about this legendary stuff? Pi-face can't be making that up…can he?_

* * *

GASP! Sora's friends have gone missing! ...next chapter soon!


	6. The Truth

Something is revealed in this chapter! Unfortunately, this chapter is a pinch shorter than the others...but the next one will be juicy!

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Six: The Truth**

* * *

The next morning, Sora still found himself unable to shake off the feeling of unrest he had. It was a familiar yet foreign feeling…much like he would get when something bad was about to happen, but in this case, he felt that it already had happened. When he had woken up from the previous day, the feeling only worsened, though seeing the people passing by the statue of Hachiko seemed to lessen his worry. He glanced around for Neku, and found the boy standing not far away, his headphones on and his hands held steady over them. _Probably scanning,_ he thought, _But why?_

As Sora slowly approached the boy, however, Neku opened his eyes again and pulled down his headphones. "Finally awake, Sora?"

"I guess," The keyblade master replied. "What were you doing?"

"Scanning," Neku replied. "I used to only do it when I absolutely had to."

"Why were you doing it just now?" Sora asked.

Neku shrugged. "I dunno. Beat talked about it once… He said it was like tuning into every radio channel at once. It's really like that if you can't focus what you're scanning."

"Beat told you that?" Sora said, tilting his head. "He's your friend, right? Isn't he…you know…alive?"

"Yeah," Neku replied, not seeming offended, "He is. He had to go through the Reaper's game, too. Him, Rhyme and Shiki all had to. Shiki was my partner for the first week, and the third week Beat was my partner. They're all alive. I was too, until a few days ago…"

Sora winced, seeing Neku look away in what was probably shame. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's probably a touchy subject for you…"

"Not particularly," Neku replied. "After I went through the game the first three times, I kind of got used to the idea of being dead." He crossed his arms. "The mission isn't here yet. Anything you wanna do? The Sunshine Stationside is right there."

"Now that I think about it," Sora began, "I need to call someone." He pulled out his communicator and put it on his ear. Clicking it on, he buzzed into Cid's station. There was a good bit of static, but the signal still went through. "Cid? You there?"

"Is that you, Sora?"

Sora blinked a few times. "Hey, Aerith. Where's Cid?"

"He's seeing off Leon and Yuffie," the woman's voice replied. "We've been calling you for the past few days and you haven't picked up, so we sent them to look for you. Are you okay? You don't sound very well."

"I'm still in one piece if that's what you mean," Sora said uneasily, knowing what she meant. He had done his best to mask the sick feeling in his stomach, but when he spoke it showed through clearly. "We've got a heartless situation here in Shibuya. I ran into a Darkside just yesterday."

"That's terrible!" Aerith said. "I'll contact Leon as soon as I can so he can keep a lookout."

"I don't think that'll do them much good," Sora pointed out. "Right now I'm in some sort of parallel dimension that's right alongside Shibuya. My friend here told me it's called the UG, and the heartless are stuck here for now. If all goes well, I may be able to get rid of them here before they get to the RG and overrun this world. There's a lot of people in the RG, so I'm going to try and get rid of the heartless here before they can find a way out."

"I see," Aerith mumbled. "Do you know where the keyhole is yet?"

Sora narrowed his eyes. "Not a clue. I don't know enough about this place yet to find it. I'm pretty sure I'll know where it is when I get there, though."

"You know there isn't much time, Sora. Please hurry."

"I will, Aerith. Don't worry. When you can contact them, can you tell Leon and Yuffie that I'm okay? I'm going to need their help, though."

"I will. Take care, Sora."

Sora nodded and hung up. "I've been gone long enough," he said. "Is today's mission here yet?"

The familiar sound of ringing caught their ears. Neku sighed and shook his head. "You had to ask, didn't you?" He teased, fishing out his phone from his pocket. "It says…wait a sec, this is just a text message."

"False alarm?" Sora asked.

"Yeah," Neku replied, "Spam, too. They're advertising plane tickets to Australia. Hopefully there _will_ be a mission today, and it just hasn't come yet."

"What's so bad about there not being a mission?" Sora asked. "Doesn't that mean you're free to roam?"

"Last time it happened, Pi-Face was the week's game master," Neku grumbled, earning an agreeing grimace from Sora. "He was so busy making Taboo Noise to screw up the game that he didn't issue any missions for a few days, so I got dragged around doing stuff instead. It was a relief, yeah, but when you have to deal with a turd like Joshua it's not exactly easy goings."

Sora's thoughts screeched to a halt when Neku uttered his last sentence. "Wait a sec! Joshua was your partner? Isn't he the kid we met in that café with that Hanekoma guy?"

Neku nodded. "Yeah. As hard as it is for me to trust a piece of snot like him, I do. I sort of owe him for saving me."

Sora saw Neku's point. Even though Joshua was stuck-up, he couldn't deny the fact that there was good in him. After all, he was against the heartless, and he certainly wasn't a Nobody.

"You have some explaining to do, Sora," Neku began. "You've been acting really weird ever since we went to the café on Cat Street. Those two said they had been waiting for you, and even Pi-face knows who you are, but you're not from anywhere around here. As long as there isn't a mission to be worried about, we've got time. Spill it."

_He sure is straightforward,_ Sora observed, sighing and sitting down on the stone wall behind Hachiko. "If I tell you," he began, "You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone else. If you do, it'll only make things worse."

"I promise," Neku replied.

"Good," Sora replied, relieved. "Now, what do you want to know?"

* * *

"I haven't been in a place this crowded since Radiant Garden was still clean," Yuffie said as she watched the people pass by. "How are we supposed to find Sora in a tangled mess like this?"

Leon shook his head and rubbed his temples with two fingers. The moment they had set foot outside the gummi ship, Yuffie had gone wide-eyed and wouldn't stop talking about the world they were currently investigating. Once she was done gawking at the fashion and the great food, she had gone right back to the situation at hand almost too enthusiastically.

"Excuse me!" Yuffie cried, stopping one of the passers-by. The girl in question, whom was holding a stuffed animal in her arms, paused and pushed her glasses up her nose again. Content, Yuffie continued. "Have you seen a boy with really spiky brown hair? He wears a mostly black outfit."

_Nice description,_ Leon grumbled.

"There's probably several people in Shibuya like that," the girl replied. "I met someone like that just two days ago. His name was Sora. Does that help any?"

_Pay dirt._ "Yes," Leon said, cutting in before Yuffie could spazz out again. "Where did you last see him?"

"He met us at the statue of Hachiko nearby," the girl said, hesitating. An odd look crossed her face. "After that he went past there to the station underpass down the road. Do you know him?"

"We're friends of his," Leon replied curtly. "Come on, Yuffie. Let's go."

Yuffie said a quick farewell and followed Leon down the road. They found the statue the girl mentioned rather quickly and began walking down the road beyond when they caught sight of a group of policemen. Leon hurried over to where they stood and paused when he saw what they were inspecting.

_It can't be,_ he thought, his thoughts screeching to a halt, denial rising in his mind. _This can't be possible…_

* * *

Neku finally felt a bit of satisfaction. Sora had decided to finally give up his secrets on a single condition – one that was easy to uphold. "First of all," he began, "Tell me about your keyblade. I know it's not just your psyche for the game."

"It's not," Sora agreed. "I don't really know much about it, but apparently it's got a mind of its own. When my home was first taken over by heartless two years ago, there was a weird flash of light and the keyblade just appeared in my hands. I've had it ever since. A bit down the line I figured out more about the keyblade, like how it's capable of opening and sealing any lock, no matter how big or how small. It's a really powerful weapon, and the heartless fear it more than anything else."

"Mind if I see it?" Neku asked. _Where's he put it, anyway? I don't see him holding it right now._

Sora nodded, holding his hand out in front of him. A small shower of sparks appeared, and the large key simply appeared in his hand. "Here it is," he said.

"It doesn't look all that dangerous," Neku said quietly, "But it's a lot more lethal-looking than the stuffed animal Shiki used."

"Shiki fights with a stuffed animal?" Sora asked, surprised.

Neku chuckled. "Yeah. She insists that it's a cat, but it looks more like a pig to me." He shook his head, attempting to get back on the subject. "Anyway, Pi-face said that the keyblade was legendary. Is it?"

Sora shrugged. "I guess so. Everyone I meet calls me the keyblade master, and they refer to the keyblade as if it's the only one in existence. I'm not all that sure abo-wha?!"

Surprised when Sora cut off his sentence, Neku followed his friend's gaze to see two people enter the square. One was a tall man wearing a black vest and a black pair of pants, a strange blade with a revolver barrel near the handle slung over his shoulder. Next to him was a younger woman with short black hair, a tight, black outfit (_She actually looks in style,_ Neku commented), and an oversized shuriken in her hand. For a moment he believed them to be cosplayers, but when he saw Sora approach them, he thought otherwise.

"That girl said Sora went down this way," the girl said, pointing down the street.

"He passed that way a few days ago," The man pointed out. "he could be anywhere."

The girl put her hands on her hips and groaned. "It doesn't mean we shouldn't look! Come on, _Squall_."

"It's _Leon_," The man grumbled, but he followed the girl anyway.

Sora ran after them. "Leon! Yuffie! It's me, Sora! Over here!"

Neku followed. "Sora, don't bother! We're in the UG. They can't see _or_ hear us."

"Oh," Sora replied, his shoulders sinking. The pessimism, however, didn't last long. "Well, maybe they'll head into a shop or something! I can meet with them in there!"

Neku was about to agree when he remembered a very important fact: Sora wasn't aware that he was dead yet. He had died in an alley near the station road, and Neku had only gotten there in time to see the boy fall onto the pavement with no life left in him. His eyes widened; if Sora were to see the scene of his death… _No. I can't let that happen!_ "Sora, no!"

But it was too late. The two strangers had paused near a crowd of policemen that were inspecting a scene. Also standing nearby were beat and Rhyme. All of the bystanders that either Sora or Neku recognized had one thing in common: the expressions on their faces.

"This is terrible," Rhyme said. "First Neku, then the other boy…"

"Other boy…?" Sora echoed, walking closer. Neku swallowed nervously and stayed close.

Beat shook his head. "That ain't right, yo. We just met 'im, and now he's…"

"Do you think he went into the game?" Rhyme asked.

"If he did," Beat replied, "I sure hope he's partnered up with Neku. If he is, I'm sure he'll win an' come back."

At this point, Sora had been hooked by curiosity. Neku only followed quietly, knowing that it would be best now if Sora found out the truth. They wove through the crowd and finally arrived at the scene. The policemen had the area blocked off with tape, and had drawn on the ground with chalk to mark the scene. While not many people were present aside from the authorities, the citizens that looked on seemed highly intrigued.

Moments later, Sora gasped in shock, his eyes nearly bulging out of his skull. He had found what the policemen were looking at. There, lying on the ground and being inspected, was a very familiar body. Neku began to back away; Sora wasn't going to take this very well.

"Is that me?" Sora asked, his voice trembling. "How am I seeing myself?"

"That's you in the RG," Neku replied quietly, almost inaudible. He had a feeling he knew what was happening next.

"Everyone back away," one of the policemen ordered. "Witnesses only."

Most of the crowd backed off, but Sora and Neku – whom were invisible due to being in the UG – remained. Another of the policeman looked up from where he had been examining Sora. "Gunshot wound," he muttered. "Doesn't look like a suicide. Hit him sideways in the back of the head, but it was still fatal. Looks like he was trying to get away from whoever killed him right before the bullet hit."

"I'm…" Sora began. His hands were quivering, his jaw trembling. "Is that…"

Neku bit his lip. This same feeling had happened to him when he had found out why he was in the game. The denial, the shock, the complete confusion… For him, it had been slightly different since he had no memory. For Sora, there had to be some form of realization. Feeling slightly sympathetic, Neku walked forward, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sora…"

Sora barely noticed him and fell to his knees, tears of disbelief flowing from his eyes. "No. It can't be! I can't…I can't be _dead_!"

* * *

Chapter 7 soon! I should update my other fics...

Also, yes. I _did _get a text message spam once. They weren't advertising tickets to Australia specifically, but they were advertising tickets. Made me chuckle.


	7. Tell Me All You Know

I know I've been gone a while; I've been working on other fics as well as some videos that I have up on youtube and working on the novel that I will soon be publishing. I haven't abandoned this fic, though! Here's the next chapter for you guys. Because you're all so awesome.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Seven: Tell Me All You Know**

* * *

_I can't be dead! I'm not dead! I'M NOT DEAD! NO!_

Sora could hardly hear anything else. His own thoughts shouted through his own mind, screaming in denial. He wasn't dead. His skin wasn't cold. He was still breathing. He was still in Shibuya. He could still think, feel, see, hear… He couldn't be dead. It just wasn't possible.

"Sora…"

"I'm NOT DEAD!" Sora screamed, the sobs only coming faster. He pounded a fist into the ground angrily, ignoring the stinging pain in his knuckles. "I'm…"

Neku approached, kneeling down next to the boy. "Sora," he began, "You can get a second chance, you know."

Sora hesitated, then shook his head. "How can you say something like that?" he whimpered. "I know you're trying to make me feel better, but…"

"That's the reward for winning the Reaper's Game," Neku continued. "If you win, you come back."

"But why did I have to die in the first place?!" Sora demanded.

Neku stood, shrugging. "There's no other way into the UG. The composer came once, but since he's in charge of the game he has the power to do that. No one else can really get into the UG without dying."

_But that means…_ Sora began. "That Joshua guy…I saw him in the alley just before I…died. He shot me and killed me, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Neku replied, not seeming very distraught over it. "But he's got the power to bring you back, too. And he _will_ once this game is over with."

Sora wasn't sure he could trust Neku with those words, but something in him told him it was the only option. Standing, he pulled out his player pin, a thought crossing his mind. "I need to talk to them," he said. "To Leon and Yuffie."

"Those two?" Neku asked, gesturing to the warriors.

Sora would have scoffed at how Neku was so casual about being dead, but he reminded himself that Neku had been dead a lot longer than him. "Yeah," He replied, nodding. The tears were finally starting to fade, but the anger remained. The sick feeling in his stomach only got worse. Shaking his head, he gripped the pin in his hand firmly, but not tight enough to crush it. "Is there a way I can talk to them?"

"You could imprint," Neku suggested. "All you have to do is get into their thoughts and say what you want them to hear. It might be easier to just get them into a store so you could talk to them face to face, though. The closest store is the Sunshine Stationside where I met you."

"Think I can use imprinting to get them to go there?" Sora asked. "It's faster than just following them, and they'll probably leave if they think..."

Neku nodded, knowing what Sora meant. "It's worth a shot."

"Okay," Sora replied. "Here goes." He held the pin delicately in his hand, feeling it pulse as the sounds of everyone's thoughts surged into his mind.

_Dunno what this kid was doing in an alley like this…really should think more about what he's doing…this is exactly why I tell my kids to stay away from dark areas._

Sora was tempted to imprint a rather rude message on the man's mind, but moved on.

_I don't believe this…Sora was only here for a day when he was shot._

Bingo. Yuffie.

_What are we supposed to do now? He was our only hope, and as far as we know he's the only one that can wield the keyblade…_

"Go to Sunshine Stationside."

_What the…why am I thinking about food at a time like this?_

Sora rolled his eyes. "Quit being stubborn, Yuffie. Go eat something." He was just about to admonish himself for his recklessness when Yuffie's voice came up again.

_That sounds a lot like something Sora would say… Well, I don't think he'd want me moping about this. Besides, I kind of am hungry._

Dropping contact and opening his eyes, Sora watched as Yuffie turned to Leon. "Come on, Leon. They only want witnesses here anyway."

"Should we try to take care of this place on our own?" Leon asked, sarcasm evident in his voice. "You know Sora's the only one capable of-"

"We can _think_ about it later," Yuffie insisted. "Let's just go get a bite to eat. I saw a place to eat on the way here."

Leon, apparently not wanting to argue, followed Yuffie up the street. Neku crossed his arms and observed. "Not bad for your first time imprinting."

Sora shook his head. "Not really. Yuffie's just pretty gullible. Come on."

The two followed Leon and Yuffie down the street at a distance. When the two entered the shop, Sora and Neku followed calmly, entering just as Yuffie finished placing their order.

"…and two OJ's. How much is that?"

"A salad, a double burger, and two OJ's," the lady at the counter repeated. "That'll be 1,320 yen, please."

"Yen?" Leon echoed.

Yuffie groaned. "We forgot to exchange our currency, Leon."

"This is just perfect," Leon grumbled. "Yuffie, _you_ ordered the food. You figure this out."

"Don't dump this on me! How was I supposed to know this in advance?" Yuffie sighed. "Yeesh, just whose idea was this, anyway?"

"Yours," Leon replied bluntly.

Sora chuckled lightly and stepped in. "Actually," he said, "It was mine."

Neku strode up to the counter and tossed some yen to the girl whom was currently in charge. "Use the extra to get me two of the usual."

The girl, obviously a different one from the one Sora had been present for, hesitated before nodding and heading off to prepare their food. Meanwhile, Yuffie and Leon were staring in shock at Sora.

"Wha…" Yuffie began. "But you…what's…"

Sora sighed. _They're not going to take this well._ "Yuffie, Leon, you might want to sit down."

"Sounds like an idea," Leon said, complying calmly as usual. As cool as Leon seemed, however, Sora had never seen the man's eyes go that wide. "Sora, is that really you?"

"Yeah," Sora replied. "It's me."

Yuffie crossed her arms. "How can we be sure it's you?"

"You're from the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee," Sora said as he and Neku took their own seats. "I'm helping you guys fight the heartless and keep them under control."

"Anyone could figure that out," Leon said, crossing his arms. "We're not exactly a secret operation."

Neku shook his head. "Sora, are you sure you know these people?"

"Of course I know them!" Sora insisted, feeling partially insulted. "I've known them for two years."

"Then tell me one thing that only Sora would know," Yuffie said, her eyes darkening.

Sora sighed and thought. _What's something that no one else knows? Oh, yeah…_ He cleared his throat. "Before I sealed the keyhole in Hollow Bastion, _Squall_ told me something." Sora paused momentarily, noticing Leon flinch at the mention of his real name. "You said, 'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other.' Remember?"

In the short stunned silence, the waitress brought the food to their table and quickly left. Yuffie stared with wide eyes, while Leon's expression was unreadable. The young ninja was the first to speak. "Sora, it _is_ you!"

"But how?" Leon asked. "You were in that alley. The policemen said you were…"

"Dead," Sora finished quietly, reaching for his Tatsumi Burger. "I know."

Neku, whom had been quietly nibbling away at his own food, chose his moment to speak up. "Sora's not the only one," He said. "I'm dead, too."

"I still don't get this," Leon continued. "If you're both gone, how are you here?"

"We're taking part in the Reaper's Game," Neku explained. "It takes place in the UG, which is like an alternate part of the RG that you and everyone else alive walks around in. The only time we can be seen is if we go someplace where the UG and RG overlap. Usually that's in stores like these."

"We don't have time for you to be playing games, Sora," Leon grumbled. "You need to be taking care of the heartless."

Sora shook his head. "The heartless _are_ here, Leon, they're just in the UG. Neku and I are taking part in the game so we can keep an eye on them, so to speak."

Neku nodded. "The Reaper's Game is what happens to you when you die. Everyone comes there for a common reason: a second chance at life. Of course, there's an entry fee to get into the game, and it's what you value most. Mine was waived this time – at least, that's what I was told – but I'm not sure about you, Sora."

"What you value most?" Sora echoed. _Then…what was my entry fee? I don't like the sound of this…_

"Speaking of which," Yuffie began. "Sora, Cid sent us here to help you out and all, but there's something we need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"The king and his servants," Leon began, "As well as Riku and Kairi have all gone missing."

The world seemed to stop then and there as the information sunk in. Sora could barely move; his mind was reeling. "Missing?" he repeated. "Everyone's gone missing?" _This can't be happening again… I just found everyone…_

"Gone without a trace," Yuffie confirmed. "It happened around the same time you stopped answering our calls."

Sora stared downward in disbelief. "Then my entry fee was…"

Neku looked away. "You'll get them back if you win," he said quietly.

"This is the third time," Sora continued. "The third time I've lost them…"

_Beep! Beep!_

"Mission mail!" Neku exclaimed quietly. "We'd better get going, Sora."

Reluctantly, Sora nodded. "I guess," he said before turning back to Leon and Yuffie. "If you guys can keep an eye out for heartless in the RG, that'd really help. I'll try to keep in touch when I can."

"How?" Yuffie asked. "We won't be able to see you."

"You won't have to," Sora replied, grinning. "Remember how I said it was my idea for you two to come here?"

"Yeah," Yuffie replied, scratching her head in confusion. "I…don't quite get that. I just had some weird thought in my head and I decided to come here. How was that you?"

Sora only smiled. "You'll see. When I need you, you'll know."

Neku stood. "Come on, Sora. Let's get started on the mission."

* * *

Koki Kariya could hardly believe that this turn of events had occurred. No one had ever seen these monsters I the UG before, and he had a pretty good idea that they didn't belong there. What bothered him the most, however, was the fact that the current game master was none other than _that guy_.

"I can't believe this!" Uzuki raved. "Why the hell would the composer choose _him_ to run the game?"

"Calm down there, sweetie," Kariya said, grinning his trademark grin. "Just because you have a few qualms with him doesn't mean he can't be the Game Master. Besides, he's doing a pretty good job if you ask me. Those black monsters are getting wiped out pretty good. We haven't lost a single player to them yet."

Uzuki shrugged. "I still don't know, Kariya. I mean, other games we've done we've had to wipe out players, and now we're hoping they survive. Isn't using players as our clean up duty kind of…low?"

Kariya snickered. "You only say that because you're a harrier. Why not use those skills of yours on the monsters?"

Wrinkling her nose, Uzuki place a hand on her hip but drew her gun anyway. "Ugh, why should I? I'm not going to earn any points from this. Why aren't you helping them, anyway?"

"Details," Kariya replied matter-of-factly. "Besides, there won't be any players to hunt down if they've all been wiped out by those things, right?"

"Good point," Uzuki replied. "Besides, don't we have a special op from the composer or something to make sure some new guy makes it through the game safely?"

Kariya shrugged. "Something like that. The composer said he's a pretty important piece of this whole mess. Supposedly he's the one that's going to fix everything up. He paired him up with that proxy from a while ago for some extra security."

"Neku Sakuraba?!" Uzuki exclaimed, digging her fingers into her skull angrily. "We have to deal with _him_?!"

"Would you rather be wiped out by the monsters?" Kariya asked dryly.

Uzuki didn't respond, and instead loaded her gun. "Come on. We've got points to earn."

Kariya grinned.

* * *

"This doesn't seem like it would be too difficult," Sora said, crossing his arms.

Neku shook his head. "It's day three, Sora; and the mission seems pretty tough to me."

The keyblade master glanced back down at his phone. "_Bring light to the darkness at Molco. You have 120 minutes._ I'm pretty sure it just means wiping out some heartless."

"I still think it's fishy," Neku replied, walking along. "I mean, there haven't really been any noise involved in the missions so far, except for the first one."

"We've only gone through _two_ missions," Sora pointed out as the two rounded a corner. "But yeah, I see your point."

Neku sighed, staring at the sky as they approached Molco. "What really gets me is that the game master this time around is using those heartless things as part of the game. Why would he use something that could help Minamimoto? I'm pretty sure that math freak needs to be erased, not promoted."

"Maybe they're using the players as part of their cleanup duty or something," Sora suggested.

At the thought, Neku cocked an eyebrow. _He's got a point,_ he said. _I never would have thought of that, personally. There was only one mission that was like that, and it was to wipe out Minamimoto. That didn't exactly work, either, since he came back and all…twice, now._

"Here we are," Sora said. "Now to wipe out some heartless."

"I don't see any," Neku noted, glancing around. The only things he saw were the crowd walking by and a few kids playing Tin Pin Slammer. Nothing out of the ordinary. "Should I scan for them?"

"Sounds like an idea," Sora replied, nodding."

Nodding, Neku took out his player pin and pulled his headphones on. He cautiously initiated the scan, and several voices approached him. He began searching for any suspicious noise levels when something dragged him in by force. He staggered, clutching his head as an image entered his mind.

_It was almost dusk. Four kids sat on a clock tower, eating what appeared to be ice cream bars. One in particular caught Neku's eye: he would have been the spitting image of Sora had it not been for a few subtle differences. For one, his hair was shorter and blonde instead of brown, and his clothing was mostly white rather than black. Something else seemed different about the boy…something just didn't seem right, but even so he still talked happily to his friends. Out of his pocket, the boy whom looked like Sora pulled out a little blue bead and held it in the sunlight, causing it to glimmer beautifully._

_The image shifted to a completely white room, in the center of which was a flower-shaped pod. The boy angrily attacked a man wrapped in red robes, brandishing what could only be the keyblade. He was about to strike again when the man vanished. The pod flashed, and the petals peeled back, revealing a familiar boy floating peacefully inside, apparently in a deep slumber. The blonde stared upward and mouthed a single word: "Sora…"_

"Neku! Are you okay?"

The boy jerked out of the trance he didn't know he was in and fell to his knees, gasping for breath. His player pin clattered to the ground, and he pushed his earphones back down onto his neck before picking it back up. He couldn't find a choice of words, so he just shook his head in response to Sora's question as he sat up.

Sora, concerned, knelt down next to Neku and muttered a few words that he couldn't make out. There was an odd wave of warmth that covered Neku and he felt his composure returning to him, and he managed to stand up again. He gave Sora an odd look, knowing whatever had helped him must have been Sora's doing, but chose not to speak on it. Sora stared on in concern. "Neku, what happened?"

Neku looked away, eyes still wide in shock from what had happened in his vision. "Sora…I think I just scanned you."


	8. Mina and Makoto

POLL ON MY USER PAGE! CHECK IT OOUUUUTTTT!

Shameless plug aside, this chapter is short and a bit sloppy…but let me answer a few questions before we begin.

**Who is the Game Master?** He's from TWEWY, of course. You'll have to wait and see who he is.

**Will Organization XIII show up?** I can't say all of them will…but we will see at least one of their members. That's the plan, anyway.

**Is Roxas going to show up?** Yep.

**What about Riku?** Maybe. I haven't decided yet.

**There ARE other players in the game this time, right? **Yes, and they will all play an important role in the end.

Now on with the fic.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Eight: Mina and Makoto**

* * *

"You said you had everything under control."

Minamimoto rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. What did you think I was doing?"

A man in a black cloak stood in a dark corner, his arms crossed in disappointment. "I did not show you how to control the heartless so that they could be disposed of by the keyblade master and that proxy. You know very well that I can wrest control from you if I so wish it. Remember our deal, Minamimoto."

"Get rid of the keyboy and his little yoctogram pal," The math addict grumbled. "Yeah. Got it."

"Of course," the man continued, "You could also use the heartless to get rid of the composer. Then _you_ would be in charge of this little Reaper's Game."

Now, _that_ was an idea Minamimoto liked. He had used the taboo noise to try it before, but they had failed against the heartless when he was testing them out again. This man…what was his name again?...showed him how to use the heartless at his command, which he immediately saw as an asset. He grinned at the memory of it. "Looks like I'll have to multiply their power, then. If those two digits are still around by day seven, they're sure to be iterated before they can so much as factor at their reward."

The cloaked man grinned. "Just what I wanted to hear," he said, vanishing in a swirl of darkness. "I'll check in with you later, Minamimoto. Don't disappoint me."

* * *

To say Sora was concerned was a bit of an understatement. Neku had given the area a scan and suddenly doubled over, his eyes wide, his fingers digging through his hair and clutching his skull. The player pin had fallen to the ground, and Sora hastily picked it up and gave it back to Neku the moment the boy came to. He froze, however, when he heard Neku speak again.

"Sora, I think I just scanned you."

The keyblade master did a double-take. "Wha…that can't be right! I have a player pin, how could you scan me?" He paused. "What exactly did you see?"

"Nothing I could really make heads or tails of," Neku replied, shaking his head a bit as Sora helped him back on his feet. "There was some kid that looked a lot like you…he was sitting on top of a clock tower, holding some sort of blue thing in the sun. Then it kind of shifted and I saw him in this really big white room, and he had your keyblade in his hand, and he was attacking some guy dressed in red. After that, the guy disappeared and the big pod in the middle of the room opened up, and you were in it."

Sora furrowed his eyebrows. He knew what Neku was referring to; Roxas had experienced those same things. Maybe it wasn't Sora he had scanned, but Roxas. _But how? I have a player pin, he shouldn't be able to scan me._

"We should definitely ask Mr. H about this later," Neku said sternly. "For now, let's just focus on the mission."

"You guys are stuck, too?"

Neku and Sora turned around to see two people standing calmly behind them. Sora was about to ask for their identities when Neku spoke up first, to the girl. "I know you!" he said. "You're Mina and Makoto, right?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, that's us."

The boy with her sighed and looked away. "You get these missions at all? So far we haven't been clearing any of them. The other players seem to be doing a lot hotter than us."

"By getting them, you mean we understand them?" Neku asked. "We understand them just fine. So far we've just been on clean-up duty and they're finding new and inventive ways to say it."

"I don't know," Mina replied. "Those noise are really tough."

"You know these two?" Sora asked.

Neku nodded. "Sort of, yeah. I would have probably talked to them the first time I went through the game, but my memory was my entry fee, so I didn't recognize them."

"Your entry fee was your memory?" Makoto said. "Man, that had to be rough…"

"It was," Neku replied. "Sora's got all of his friends as his entry fee this time. Dunno how the composer pulled that off; usually it's just one person that's really important."

Sora winced. These people sure spoke openly about such things. Then again, it could have just been Neku that was like that. He backed away a step just to be safe. "It's not _my_ fault that I value my friends," he said quietly.

"My entry fee was my reputation," Makoto replied, "And it serves me right. The only reason I want to win is so if I come back, maybe I can make things right with everyone. My friends, my boss at work, my parents…"

"You can," Sora said. "I'm sure you can."

"What about you, Mina?" Neku asked. "What was your entry fee?"

"Ai," Mina replied. "My best friend…she was with me when I…got sent here. But I didn't see her anywhere at Hachiko. I think she was my entry fee…"

"You'll get her back if you win," Neku said calmly. "I had my own friend as an entry fee in my second run through the game. She came back with me when I won."

"But now you're in the game again?" Mina asked. "What happened?"

"Car accident," Neku explained vaguely, grumbling. "It's not important. What matters is that we win. Sora thinks that we just have to wipe out some heartless."

"That's what those Noise are called?" Makoto asked. "I thought they were just beefed up Taboo noise."

"Keep a close eye out for them," Sora said, fists clenching. These people truly didn't know what they were getting into. "The heartless will do more than just erase you if you lose. I know what happens firsthand, and trust me: you _don't_ want to go there."

Neku gave Sora an odd look, but apparently he agreed. "Keep an eye out for a guy obsessed with math, too. He's bad news."

"We will," Mina replied, smiling. "Good luck to you two!"

"Thanks," Sora said, waving as the two walked off.

Neku sighed. "Mina and Ai were best friends, and Makoto had a crush on Ai. Ai thought Mina was trying to butt in on their relationship once when all she was really doing was hooking them up. I saw it during my first week in the game."

"They must be pretty close," Sora observed. "I sure hope they get to come back when the game is over."

At the comment, Neku's face stiffened, and he turned away. "Come on. Let's just figure out this mission. This is only day three, and this one is only to wipe out some heartless, right?"

Sora hesitated. Neku was definitely not telling him something, and that something had to be important. Even so, he knew that look: he wasn't about to get any answers. Clearing his throat, he glanced at his cell phone, finally accustomed to having it around. "It says bring light to darkness. I don't know about you, but it might mean more than just wiping out the heartless."

Neku crossed his arms and thought for a moment before plucking a blank pin from his pocket. "Sitting around here and thinking about it isn't going to get us anywhere. I say we figure out how you work when we use this pin. There's several levels of power that I know about, and depending on how well we're synced…"

Sora nodded. "I guess there's no better way of knowing than trying it firsthand."

There was a brief silence while Neku stared at Sora wide-eyed, then looked back at the pin and put it on. "You have a good point. What should we target: noise or heartless?"

"Heartless," Sora replied. "They shouldn't be here, and I'm supposed to be getting rid of them anyway."

The two didn't have to go far to find their target. After a short run around Molco, they found a small crowd of shadows waiting for them in front of a poster advertising some sort of competition. Sora nearly scoffed – shadows weren't exactly the strongest type of heartless around – but he knew that they were the types responsible for devouring his home world and decided that one less heartless, no matter what kind, was one less obstacle and one less annoyance. He whipped out the keyblade as he saw a sphere of light appear in Neku's hand. "When will you know when that pin's ready to use?"

Neku shook his head. "I won't. _You_ will."

Sora blinked. "_Me_? How?"

"You just will. Now, let's go!"

Deciding to go with what Neku said for now, Sora lunged into the fray, swatting shadows left and right. Behind him, Neku unleashed a trail of flame to consume more of them. For each one of the heartless that they dispatched, however, several more came as replacements. Sora gritted his teeth. _We're never going to beat them like this!_

_**Oh, give me a break.**_

Sora did a double take, but quickly snapped back into reality when a shadow nearly tackled him. Shoving the heartless back, he took the defensive. _This is just a _lovely_ time to be making conversation, you know. If I screw up here, everyone else gets screwed over, remember?_

_**I meant there's a way to beat them. Honestly, you took on a thousand heartless at once and you're upset because these guys are bothering you? There's a way to beat them, Sora. You just don't know what it is yet. And if you ask me, I bet it's Neku's pin.**_

_You do have a good point, but I have no clue how it's supposed to work!_

_**You didn't know how magic or drive worked, either. You barely knew how to summon the keyblade when it disappeared. But you figured it all out by just acting on instinct, didn't you?**_

_Yeah…I did._

_**So, Sora, how about it? Just act on instinct. You'll figure it out.**_

Sora nodded, feeling a warm, familiar energy wrapping around him. Knowing somehow that the time had come, he sent a glance back at Neku. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Right behind you!" Neku replied, running forward.

Leaping into the air, Sora hurled the keyblade upward. Neku activated one of his pins and hurled a bolt of thunder at the weapon, which showered sparks onto the heartless below in a barrage of electricity. The sound of a heartless vanishing echoed numerous times, and dozens of hearts exploded out of the darkness and soared into the sky. Neku and Sora landed, the sparks dying and the keyblade returning to Sora's hand as the light faded. The heartless had all vanished. A familiar numbing sensation prickled on Sora's hand, and when he removed his glove to check, he noticed that the timer had vanished.

* * *

So, day three down, four days to go...can Sora last that long? Who is the guy hanging around Minamimoto? Who is the Game Master this round? All this and more will be answered...later. Like, maybe in the next update. In the meantime, go vote on my poll please? :D


	9. Reunions

Concerning the poll, please take a look at it even if you've already voted. The winning decision (so far…it won by a LANDSLIDE) has been written and posted as _Darker Than Twilight_, since the plot bunny attacked me again, hehehe. Also, sorry for the lack of updates here. I went on a total "New Story High" with DTT, but here I am again. I'll be updating slower since I have 4 active stories now...plus a book I'm editing and planning to publish.

Okay, MAJOR thanks to _thekeylessdoor_ for giving me an idea on the mission for day 4 AND letting me use it. I owe all credit to them. As for the next two missions…I NEED IDEAS. PLZ. I think.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Nine: Reunions**

* * *

"Three down and four to go," Shiki mumbled, staring at her phone. Her experience playing Reaper Creeper with Sora had alerted her to the fact that Neku was indeed playing the Reaper's Game once again. While it was comforting to know that she'd be able to see him again, there was still the possibility that he might be erased. Day four was right in the middle of the week, and when she had gone through the game, day four had a deceptively easy mission: one that had cost Beat his sister.

"Come on, Shiki. Beat's going to worry himself sick if we're late."

Sighing, the girl tucked her phone back into her pocket and turned to Rhyme. "I know, Rhyme, but Cat Street is a bit far. What's he up to there, anyway?"

Rhyme shrugged. "I don't know, really. He was going to stop by Jupiter of the Monkey for some clothes. He says he likes Wild Boar better, but he never told me why he's going there instead."

"Neku always liked J-M," Shiki mused aloud. "When I finally got him to start paying attention to trends, that was the first shop he'd go to for clothes…even if they weren't the current trend."

"Really?" Rhyme asked.

Shiki chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. I still remember when he trekked all over Shibuya one day and made almost everyone conform to that brand…it was kind of amusing."

The two finally arrived at Cat Street to find Beat pacing in front of the store. "You finally decided to show?"

"We got sidetracked," Shiki explained. "So, why are you heading in here, Beat? I thought you shopped for clothes at Wild Boar."

"This place has a reaper decal, right?" Beat began. "Some player's bound to come in here, yo! We could ask them if they've seen Neku in the UG."

_I should have figured he'd do something like this,_ Shiki thought. "Well, as long as we're in here, I'm going to pick up some clothes myself. You could use a new outfit too, Beat. That sleeveless shirt of yours is really getting old…"

Beat began to argue, but Rhyme and Shiki were already entering the store.

* * *

Sora and Neku woke up the next morning in a rather odd place: Cat Street. While odd, it was very convenient for them, since they didn't have to walk several miles to go meet with Mr. H. The mission had not come in yet, so Neku decided to drag Sora along with him for some breakfast. Though technically Sora wasn't a coffee person, he told Neku he was still hungry and he'd come along anyway.

Strangely enough, when they entered, they found the store being run by someone whom was _not_ Hanekoma.

"…Joshua?" Neku asked. "Aren't you a bit busy…and young, at that…to be running WildKat?"

"I don't need to be present at a game for it to run, Neku," Joshua said sternly, keeping his attention focused on the rag he was wiping down a table with. "And to answer your second question, no, I'm not. If you're looking for Hanekoma, he's busy today."

"That's fine," Neku replied. "You could probably answer my question just as easily."

Joshua paused, glancing up, and then grinned. "At your service, Neku. What do you need to know?"

"It's about the player pins," Neku said. "Having one keeps someone from scanning you, right? But I scanned Sora just yesterday."

"Oh, you did?" Joshua asked, idly rubbing his chin with one finger. "Well, this is certainly interesting…are you sure you weren't scanning someone else?"

"I know I scanned Sora," Neku replied firmly. "It was the same sort of experience I had when I scanned you. Instead of thoughts, I saw images."

Sora visibly stiffened, clenching one hand.

Joshua sighed and sat daintily on a chair. "Well, player pins don't block other players from scanning you. It simply puts a mental barrier around your mind to keep other people from imprinting on you or reading your thoughts, like the O-Pins and the player pins do. You were able to scan me because I didn't have a player pin, Neku."

"But I have a player pin," Sora replied. "How is it possible that he could scan me?"

"Simple," Joshua replied. "He _didn't_ scan you. Or rather, he did, but it was the wrong you."

Both Sora and Neku exchanged confused glances. "Joshua," Neku began, "There's only one Sora here."

Joshua grinned that same grin he grinned when he knew something that Neku didn't. "I'm quite aware of that, Neku," the boy said. "There is only one Sora…but what you may not know is that Sora is more than one."

"You're making absolutely no sense, Joshua."

"Not _now_, maybe," Joshua replied. "You'd best be on your way, Neku. The mission will be coming soon, and you two will need to pass if you're going to be brought back."

Neku narrowed his eyes. "And I'm assuming the rules can't be bent because we're special picks?"

Joshua's taunting expression changed immediately to one so fierce it almost caused Neku to flee from the UG entirely. "You know that can't be done," Joshua said. "Only in an emergency call can the rules be bent. I'm pretty sure the heartless haven't grown to be too large of a threat yet to warrant that."

"Because the players are the ones taking care of them," Neku pointed out. "Whose idea was that?"

"The GM, of course," Joshua replied. "And in this game, we're making sure none of the players are erased…_especially_ you two. Now get going."

With no other arguments, Neku pulled Sora out of the store and back onto Cat Street. "I hate him so much," he grumbled, "But he's the only help we've got with Mr. H busy doing who knows what else."

"What he said about me being more than one," Sora began, eyes narrow, "What do you think he meant?"

Neku quirked an eyebrow. "No idea. How about you?"

Sora stared at the ground in silence and shook his head. Neku, noticing his nervous gesture, crossed his arms. _He knows something, doesn't he? And once again, he's not telling me about it. I've had enough of his secrets, it's about time that he-_

Before Neku could finish his thought, much less carry it out, he heard his phone ring. "Mission time," Sora announced, pulling out his phone and reading the message. "_Appease the darkness of AMC. You have 480 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. The Reapers._"

Promptly, the timer burned itself into their hands. "Well, I guess we should get started," Sora said, beginning to walk off.

"Not quite," Neku said, grabbing Sora's shoulder and keeping him from walking off. "They're giving us eight hours to do this. Let's relax for a bit before we get going."

"Relax?" Sora echoed. "What do you suggest we do to relax, then?"

"There's a store near here called Jupiter of the Monkey," Neku explained, pointing to a nearby store labeled as so. "I normally shop for clothes in there, but they have a CD rack, too. There's a reaper decal on it, so we can go inside."

Sora shrugged. "Well, we have almost all day. Let's go."

Smiling, Neku led Sora across the street and toward the store. "Remember, people from the RG can see us in here. Don't talk about the game if you can help it."

"Got it," Sora replied.

Nodding, Neku pushed open the door and braced himself for the familiar scent of leather. Jupiter of the Monkey didn't particularly specialize in leather clothing, but they always had plenty of it to sell. With a wide grin on his face, he headed over to the small CD rack near the dressing rooms. "I wonder if there's anything new in today…"

"You like music?" Sora asked.

"More than _anything_," Neku replied. "That's why I'm always carrying around my MP3 player. Some stores will let you download songs while you're there and add it to your receipt when you're done shopping."

Sora grinned. "Neat. Are there any good ones here today?"

Neku shook his head. "None that I don't already have. I'm a huge fan of the song Twister by 777, but they've…" He reflected on his week in the game with Beat. 777 had helped them, and had been erased as punishment. "…they've been gone for a while. They don't make music anymore."

"That's too bad," Sora lamented. "They've got a lot of popular albums from what I can tell."

"PHONES!"

For a brief moment, Neku felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up from shock. This was immediately overridden when a blur of black and white tackled him to the floor. He shouted in protest until he realized who he was looking at. "Beat? What're you doing here?"

The skater ignored the question. "Phones! You made it! You had us all worried, yo!"

"I'll be able to make it to day five if you let me breathe," Neku protested weakly.

Noticing his error, Beat stood, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, man…we was just scared you might have been noise food, yo."

"It's good to see you again, Neku!" came another familiar voice. Looking up as he regained his footing, Neku saw Shiki and Rhyme standing near one of the nearby jacket racks. Shiki had a few shirts over her arms, while Rhyme was dressed in a bit of J-M attire.

"Are you on your mission yet today?" Shiki asked.

Neku nodded. "Yeah. They're giving us eight hours, so I thought I'd stop in." To prove his point, he showed them his hand. The timer was still ticking.

"Sounds kind of fishy," Rhyme commented. "Who's your partner this time around?"

"Me," Sora said, stepping forward.

Beat made a fist upon noticing Sora's presence. "You! Aren't you the kid that was talking to us at Hachiko? You died in that alley near the station! How are you here?"

Sora groaned and looked away. "I really don't need a reminder that I'm dead, you know."

"He's in the game with me," Neku repeated, "And he's doing a good job. How have you guys been?"

"We're doing okay," Shiki said. "I'm being offered a scholarship to a fashion design course in a college not too far away. I got a letter just yesterday."

Neku smiled. "Not bad. I knew you'd get in sooner or later."

"What about you two?" Sora asked, gesturing to Beat and Rhyme.

"I finally decided to be a pro skater, yo," Beat said, making a fist and grinning. "Been practicing every day at the skate park near Udagawa."

"He's getting really good," Rhyme added. "I can't wait to see him in the competition next weekend."

"What do you do where you're from, Sora?" Shiki asked.

Sora paused, looking at the ground. "I never really thought about it before," he said. "I haven't been home in a few years."

Rhyme tilted her head. "Why not?"

"Nothing too important," Sora said hurriedly, earning a suspicious glance from Beat. "Normally, though, my friends and I would spar together or run races against each other. We lived on a small island chain in the ocean, and there weren't any other things to do. Some of my friends played sports, but other than that we liked to build stuff. There was a treehouse we made, and a bridge on one side of the island we played on…before we left, we started building a raft, too."

"Impressive," Shiki noted. "Did you ever get to use that raft?"

"No," Sora replied, a bit bitterly. "We found another way to travel. And now I can't go home until…"

There was an odd silence in the store broken only by the rap music being played on the store speakers. Finally, Sora shook his head and turned away. "Come on, Neku. Let's go clear this mission."

Neku watched as Sora shoved open the door and vanished outside. He sighed turning to his friends. "I have to get going," he said. "I'll let you know how I am over the next few days, okay?"

"I guess so," Shiki replied. "You two take care, okay?"

"We will," Neku assured her, walking out of the store after a final wave. Once outside, he found Sora standing on the corner of the street. He approached the boy and narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong with you? Why can't you go home?"

"I just can't, okay?" Sora shot back, looking uncharacteristically miffed. "Not until I finish here and everywhere else."

"Finish what?" Neku asked. "You can tell me."

Sora sighed. "You're not leaving me a choice, are you?"

Neku crossed his arms. Victory. "No, I'm not. Spill it. I know you've been hiding something important, and you haven't been telling me."

"Fine," Sora replied, "But if I tell you, you have to promise me that you won't tell _anyone_ else about it."

"I can keep a secret," Neku said. "Tell me on the way to AMC."

"Well," Sora began, "The heartless aren't like the noise. They don't just erase you. They steal your heart, and I don't mean the one you have as part of your circulatory system or whatever they teach you it's called in high school. They steal your soul more than anything, and then you become one of them."

"I gathered that they were dangerous," Neku mused, "But not _that_ dangerous."

"It gets worse," Sora continued. "People aren't the only things with hearts. An entire world has a heart, too. The heartless go after that heart and steal it, too, and when that happens, that world is…" He cut himself off, his hands balling into fists and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Destroyed?" Neku asked.

Sora only nodded. "My home…the Destiny Islands…it's not a nearby island chain. It's a different world altogether. The heartless came there one day, and they destroyed it…I ended up in a place I barely knew and with none of my friends to be found. There were heartless following me everywhere. I was terrified."

_So that's why he never spoke up,_ Neku thought. _I wouldn't want to talk about that sort of thing either. Still, that's really far-fetched. Another world? That basically makes him an alien. To think though, these things can destroy an entire planet… No wonder he's so keen on getting rid of them._

"They keyblade only came to me when I was still at home…right before my home vanished. I had to travel from world to world looking for my friends, only to find out that one of them was with me all along and the other one had been turned against me. When I finally thought I found them…we got separated again. I looked long and hard, and together we were able to get rid of most of the heartless, but now there are more worlds in danger, so I'm travelling around to seal the keyholes of those worlds so the heartless don't do any more damage than they've already done. If a world is destroyed, it's possible to restore it, but doing so is really hard on me and I'd rather not have to go through it ever again."

"I can understand something like that being hard on you," Neku began, "But you still could have told me. Why didn't you?"

"It's against the rules," Sora said simply. "If other people know about other worlds and the threat that the heartless are, it only makes it easier for the world to be destroyed. That, and the heartless aren't the only threats. Whenever a heartless is created, the body they leave behind becomes a Nobody. All Nobodies are under the control of Organization XIII, but I got rid of all of the officers ages ago. The only problem they should really give us is the normal nobodies that run around."

"You've had a lot on your plate," Neku commented. "Don't you ever get tired of fighting the heartless? You sound like you've been at it for years."

"I have," Sora replied, "But I'm the only one capable of sealing the keyholes. Besides, it's fun to see new places and meet new people, so I don't mind."

_That could be a plus to it,_ Neku silently agreed, beginning down the road. "Come on. Let's head to AMC."

* * *

And that's it for chapter 9.


	10. Leaked

Hey people! :D Sorry for such a long wait! I've been really busy working on my book lately as well as cooling down from the holidays and making a few videos. I'm afraid I've been abusing _Amity Invasion_, so I'll have to update that one next. Before we get started though, I have a few things to say.

I honestly didn't expect this fic to pick up quite as well as this. It's my second most favorited fic (second only to _Duel Disks and Keyblades_, which has been completed) and has the most story alerts out of all my other stories. It only started as a little plot bunny in my head that I had to write out, but eventually I got more and more ideas and just kept going. I'm glad everyone's been enjoying this, it's fun to write. The only thing I regret is not thinking of my chapter naming idea earlier…but it's okay this way, I guess.

I also forgot that AMC is actually AMX. Whoops! Sorry, folks!

Also, I've received several great ideas for new missions. While I'd love to implement them all, I'm afraid I can't, but I _will_ include hints of them if I can. All of the ideas I received were excellent, don't get me wrong! Don't worry about the final mission; I have something planned out. Zetta thanks, everyone!

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Ten: Leaked**

* * *

Cid thought the world would end (again) before he got a response from Leon. For hours, he sat at the edge of his seat, waiting for a call back on Sora's condition. Merlin and Aerith both scolded him for being so impatient, but for the first time he ignored them. They knew as well as he did that if Sora was gone, then everyone was doomed unless the keyblade chose a new master…fast.

So when the call finally came in, he dove for the "on" button. "This had better be good news, Leon!"

"Leon's off getting us some food," Yuffie's voice replied, "And we're not entirely sure if what we have to tell you is good or bad."

Cid rolled his eyes and sat back. "Well, gimme the bad news first."

Yuffie hesitated. "Well, to put it bluntly and honestly, Sora's kind of, well…dead."

"WHAT?!"

"But the good news is he's still here!" Yuffie added quickly. "And he's still fighting heartless, and he even spoke to us…"

"Quit playing games, Yuffie," Cid growled. "If Sora was dead, he wouldn't be able to do so much as twitch a finger. What're you trying to pull?!"

"We didn't get it at first either. We saw his body in the alley where he was killed, but when we were ordering food, he just walked in and said Hi. Then he explained everything. Apparently he's in an alternate Shibuya called the UG playing what's called a Reaper's Game. If you win you get to come back to life, and from what we gather the guy in charge is restoring him once he's done anyway."

Cid crossed his arms. "I always thought you were full of it, Yuffie. This is just proof."

"She's not _full of it,_ Cid. I saw him, too."

The sound of Leon's voice startled the engineer. "Not you, too!"

"Look, Cid. Neither of us is lying. Sora's bound to find the keyhole sooner or later, but he asked us to keep an eye out for any heartless that show up in the RG. If you want to help, feel free to come." With that, there was a click, and the connection closed.

Cid sighed, shaking his head. Even when going insane, Leon was still blunt and to the point. _How am I going to break this to Aerith and the others?_ He wondered, staring at the ceiling. _If Sora's really dead, then our operation is doomed to fail._

As though purposely trying to make him more miserable, the communicator rang again. Cid lazily picked up and greeted whoever was on the other side. "HBRC, this is Cid Highwind speaking."

"Ah, Cid. Just the person I needed."

Cid hesitated. He didn't recognize this voice. "Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry. The name's Sanae Hanekoma. You can call me Mr. H if you want. I have a few things to discuss with you…"

* * *

"So, Sora…what do you gather from this mission?"

The keyblade master shrugged. "Appease the darkness? Well, the darkness is obviously the heartless, but 'appease' basically means to please or calm. I don't think we'll be fighting this heartless, and that alone tells me pretty much what we'll be doing."

"There are peaceful heartless?" Neku asked.

Sora nodded, remembering the toadstool heartless he had fought. "Yeah. There's several kinds. White Mushrooms like to play charades with magic, and Rare Truffles liked to jump around, so if you toss them into the air a lot they'll give you presents."

Neku blinked, obviously finding it hard to believe that the same monsters that kept trying to kill them would be friendly. "Like what?"

"Oh, nothing much," Sora replied. "They have a weird taste in gifts, but some of the stuff they gave me was actually useful. I kind of feel bad for them sometimes."

The two stopped in front of AMX upon arrival, keeping an eye out for any other players. They didn't find any. "I'm not surprised," Neku muttered when Sora asked about it. "Eight hours is a long time. They probably think they'll cruise through something like this."

"It's not too hard," Sora replied, summoning the keyblade in his hand and changing topic. "I think I can feel some heartless nearby. That's probably our goal."

"Then let's get moving," Neku said. "Lead the way."

Sora did. They weaved their way through the crowd (which wasn't entirely necessary because they could walk through everyone, but it still felt like something they should do) near the AMX entrance and found an interesting creature waiting for them: a familiar white robe, two arms with little stubs for hands, and a large red turban on its head, two little yellow eyes peering out from beneath it. There was also a familiar heartless crest on the front of its robe. Sora grinned. "Looks like we found a White Mushroom."

"What now?" Neku asked, eyeing the creature. "It's a heartless. How are we supposed to 'appease it'? You said it plays charades with magic, but all I have are psyches."

"Leave it to me," Sora replied, sighing. "I really didn't want to let it this out early, but I guess it might help." He knelt down to the creature's eye level. "Hey there," he began, offering a hand.

The white mushroom at first hesitated, but it offered its hand forward and Sora shook it in a friendly manner. "Nice to meet you too," Sora replied to an unspoken phrase. "You wanna play charades?"

In response, the mushroom jumped up and down excitedly. Neku stared as though it had suddenly grown five heads. "It understands you?"

"And I understand it," Sora replied, shrugging. "So, little guy, you want to play some old-fashioned charades? Three rounds, basic style."

The mushroom nodded eagerly, and Sora backed away, keyblade at ready. "Okay, ready when you are."

"What are you doing?" Neku asked. "It's not trying to hurt you, put away the keyblade."

Sora shook his head. "Just watch."

The mushroom bobbed around a bit before suddenly pausing, standing in a daze as a sphere of light appeared over its head. Reacting quickly, Sora felt a tingling energy originate in his heart and spread down his arms and his fingers into the keyblade's shaft, bursting from the keyblade's tip as he instinctively swung it, sending the lightning crashing forward into the white mushroom, whom jumped happily once it impacted.

Neku's jaw would have hit the ground had it not been attached to its head. Sora, however, decided to ignore him for the time being and waited calmly for the mushroom's next move. This time, it fanned itself with its arms. Closing his eyes, Sora summoned a cold wave of energy that seemed to cloak his keyblade in a thin layer of frost before letting loose a beam of ice. Once more, the mushroom jumped up and down cheerfully. "Okay, one more round!"

This time, the mushroom shivered, and Sora called forth a completely different energy from before: this one boiling hot. An enormous fireball shot out of the tip of the keyblade and slammed into the mushroom. Neku looked about ready to protest when the mushroom cheered happily (which sounded quite similar to a squeaker of sorts). Sora smiled. "I'm glad you had fun."

"What just happened?" Neku asked, a bit more quietly than he normally did.

Sora shrugged. "Easy. I played charades with the white mushroom. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt them or anything."

"No, not that…I meant the fireballs and the thunderbolts…"

"Oh," Sora said, blinking. "Well, I said we played charades with magic. That was magic. It's a lot like your psyches, actually."

"How come you never used it before?" Neku asked, eyes bulging.

Sora rubbed his head sheepishly, thinking back on Merlin's constant advice when he had practiced in his spare time. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about the furniture and sets of teapots being destroyed since Merlin could fix them in a split second, but at the beginning of his training he often misfired and didn't hit them. Luckily, he didn't need to worry about broken windows or charred walls, either, but even when Sora finally got the art down Merlin was still giving him pointers. Donald, on the other hand, had often lost patience with the boy's incompetence when it came to magic…though, it was to be expected: the duck's short temper mixed with his vast knowledge on the subject never helped any. "Well, I'm not quite as good at it as some people I know. Mainly I just stick to defensive stuff when I can. If you rely on it too much, it drains your energy and you might pass out."

The conversation was interrupted when the mushroom began tugging on Sora's sleeve. The keyblade master glanced down as it held out a small pin. Cocking an eyebrow, Sora knelt down. "For me?" he asked. The mushroom nodded, and held the pin out again. Taking it, Sora smiled. "Thanks, little guy."

The mushroom waved at Sora, then Neku, and vanished. Sora examined the pin closely, catching a strange detail. "Odd," he muttered. "It's just like that one you have, Neku…"

"Mine?" Neku echoed.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. It's a blank pin."

"Mr. H told me that mine was the only one," Neku said, staring at the pin in Sora's hand. "And I know what mine does. Maybe this one is different?"

"Probably," Sora replied, stuffing it into one of his pockets just as he felt a numbness return to his hands. "Well, at any rate, the timer's gone. What do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

Neku's eyes traveled to the AMX nearby. "I could really use some new stuff to listen to. Sometimes when I'm alone in Shibuya, I just like to walk around listening to music so I could enjoy myself. I used to do it to tune people out, but it's different now.

_He really does like music, huh?_ Sora observed, glancing at the AMX. That's when he caught something eye of a poster in the window. "Hey, they're having a karaoke competition today. It says they're featuring some new album."

"I guess we could go in," Neku said, shrugging. "The guy there knows me, so he'll give me a discount."

Grinning victoriously, Sora and Neku headed into the music store, with Neku leading the way. The moment they stepped in, Sora felt his eyes bulge out of his skull. He had never seen so many CD albums in one place before. There were rows upon rows of rock, pop, techno, dance, even foreign music. The overhead speakers weren't blaring music at the moment; the karaoke competition was providing its own in the open corner of the shop. "Music is that big here?" Sora asked.

Neku nodded. "Yeah," he began quietly so no one would overhear. "You never really notice it, but when you're in the UG, sometimes you can hear music playing really softly. When you scan it gets louder so you can hear it well, but there's usually plenty of Noise to block it out. In my last game, there were these special pins spread around all over Shibuya, controlling people's thoughts and making them all center in on a single point. It was scary to scan them because they were all thinking the same exact thing, and strangely enough, Shibuya went on a total stand-still that day. It was so quiet. At the time, I would have enjoyed the silence and no one bothering me, but something was just wrong about it. When there's no music to hear, you know something's wrong with Shibuya."

"Sounds devastating," Sora replied. "I can't imagine a place like this being entirely quiet."

"It can happen," Neku said. "I just hope it doesn't."

Dropping the subject, Sora turned his attention to the nearby stand where the karaoke competition was taking place. Currently on the microphone was a young woman with short pink hair, her eyes squeezed shut as she sang.

_I can't believe this isn't a dream;  
My lucent orb is fading bright!  
I can't believe it was a dream;  
So hard to reignite myself…_

Sora found himself wandering toward the stand, with Neku following closely behind him. "I never knew she could sing so well," he muttered.

"You know her?" Sora asked.

Neku nodded. "Yep. Her name's Uzuki Yashiro. She's one of the Reapers helping to run this game. She's got a hot temper alright, but she's good at what she does…"

_I can't believe this isn't a dream;  
Is this the way we end up?  
I can't believe it was a dream;  
A flashback is all I've got in my hand!_

Sora cocked his head. "She _is_ good, but… She's a reaper. Shouldn't she be helping run the game or something?"

"Nah. We've got a bit of spare time right now."

The two turned around to see a man with long, spiked blonde hair standing behind them (which strongly reminded Sora of Hayner), a stick of bean paste in his hand. Neku apparently recognized him and crossed his arms. "Koki Kariya. What're you doing here?"

"Just having fun in our spare time," Kariya replied casually. "Reapers can visit the RG if we really want to, so long as we hold up our duties. Uzuki saw the sign for the karaoke contest and decided to join up. I got dragged in with her. Don't think we'll be doing you any favors in the game, though."

"Speaking of the game," Neku said, "What's up with all those heartless running around? Also, the only wall I've seen so far is the one we had on day one for 104. Is there some emergency call going on?"

Kariya shrugged. "Not that I know of," he said. "The GM isn't letting me give the details to other players, but he said the proxy and his partner have every right to know, so…he's using some of the players to help with heartless clean-up duty. The reapers are in on it, too."

"I thought so," Sora mumbled.

"I've never been in a game like this before," Kariya continued. "We're helping the players survive this time rather than picking them off. The composer himself told us that the heartless are a major threat…even worse than taboo noise. We kinda put two and two together after that."

"The composer," Neku said under his breath.

A round of applause sounded around them and Uzuki stepped down from the platform. When her eyes fell on Kariya, she snarled. "What are you _doing_?!" she demanded, hissing out her words. "These guys aren't our friends!"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Kariya protested lightheartedly. "Didn't the composer tell you about spiky and key-boy teaming up?"

"Spiky?" Neku echoed.

"Key-boy?" Sora moaned.

Uzuki groaned. "Ugh, whatever. Come on, Kariya. Let's head back to work." With that, the harrier headed out the door.

Kariya shot one last smirk at the duo. "Take care," he said, before they vanished out the door.

Sora watched as the two exited and turned his attention back to the stage, where the store's owner began speaking to the crowd again, asking who would like to be next. With a sly grin, he elbowed his partner. "Hey, Neku, why don't you go sing next?"

Neku stared at Sora with incredulous eyes. "Me?" he exclaimed. "Sora, there's a difference between _enjoying _music and actually being _good _at it!"

"You're just being _shy_," Sora insisted, much to the silent protest of Neku. "I've had to sing in front of people before. It's not _that_ bad."

Apparently Neku had judged by the look in Sora's eyes that he wasn't about to let this go, and he gave in. "Okay, fine. I'll go." Neku stepped up onto the stage, and the crowd went silent as he took the microphone in his hand. He swallowed nervously, then spoke. "Hey, everyone. I'm Neku Sakuraba…and I'd like to sing 'Someday' by Hanaeryca."

A quiet murmur went through the crowd and Sora glanced around. The song was apparently well-known. The speakers began to play an electric guitar riff, followed by bass, and Neku closed his eyes. Sora watched as the boy opened his mouth and began to sing:

_Grab the key, let's go out and have some fun!__  
Have you ever seen such a perfect day?__  
What's in your mind? Let's do it one by one!  
Have you ever thought that such a day would come?_

_Time's up! Forget the theory;  
Start up a brand new story!  
Straight up and put it shortly;  
This is the way my life goes…_

_Somehow I hate to see you lie and lie;  
I know how dumb I am, but so are you!  
Sometimes I want to laugh and cry at once;  
Explain to me what is justice, what is right?_

The crowd cheered, and Sora found himself crossing his arms and grinning as the guitar riffs played between stanzas. _He's awesome!_ The keyblade master noted. _He really should be a singer…_

* * *

"This is really getting old…"

Hanekoma sighed as he reached for another dirty mug. "What did you expect, Josh?" he replied. "Right now I have my hands full, what with being-"

"I'm not talking about that," Joshua replied, washing his hands and tossing the dirty rag into what appeared to be a trash bin. "I mean those heartless. Minamimoto isn't letting up, that's for sure, but I get the feeling that something else is at work here. Remember those _other_ creatures we saw?"

"Right," Hanekoma replied. "There was also that cloaked man that was reported to be aiding Minamimoto."

Joshua sighed, beginning to fix himself a cup of cappuccino. "But what about that other guy?" he began. "The one with the big, round ears. You said he visited and warned you about those monsters."

Hanekoma's gaze stiffened and he stared at the floor. "When the heartless first arrived, he fended off the shop. He apparently knew how vibes worked, so he was able to come to the UG the safe way. He stayed long enough to tell me about the monsters and what to do about them, and left in a big hurry. I would have offered him a cup o' joe on the house, but he seemed fine."

"You think it was the king?" Joshua asked, snapping a cap onto his disposable cup and sipping it as he headed for the back room.

"Yep," Hanekoma replied. "The fact that he told us specifically about Sora is a huge sign of that."

Joshua rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "There's also that keyblade Sora has. Do you think it is…"

Hanekoma nodded. "The very same one. I have it on good authority I know what Sora's here for, too."

"How will he find it?" Joshua asked, propping his elbow on the table.

"It's hidden," Hanekoma replied. "But he _can_ find it. You see, scanning and imprinting aren't the only things a player pin is capable of…"

* * *

I had to abridge the song. Sorry n.n;


	11. Who Are You

OMG! It's been like, forever and infinity… I'm sorry about the slow update, everyone! The good news is that my book will soon be published! :D Just one more editing run through...

I'm sifting through your mission ideas, and I'll be posting whose mission idea I used at the bottom of the page. This chapter is the almighty DAY FIVE! Two days to go until the fic reaches its finale…(sniffles).

This chapter is cut short because the chapter was getting long, and I didn't want to put too much in one chapter. Besides, you guys are cool, and I really need to update this silly overgrown plot bunny XD Honestly, how these ideas become full-fledged stories is beyond me. I'm sorry if it seems rushed!

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Eleven: Who Are You**

* * *

Neku woke up early the next morning in Dogenzaka, reflecting on the previous days. Joshua had woken him up before the game started, and he met Sora in the burger shop. Right off, he could tell Sora was no ordinary kid. Things only got stranger when Joshua specifically told him to partner with Sora at the start of the game, and rather than the players being erased, they were being protected…and used as clean-up duty for soul-stealing monstrosities. To top it off, Sora was from another world entirely, making him an alien. He had gone from living from what he said were small islands to traversing the entire universe in search of his friends, and couldn't go home until his work was done.

But there were other things that bothered Neku. Why was he able to scan Sora? He was able to scan Joshua – and he saw bits of his own memory there because Joshua kept them from him – because Joshua didn't have a player pin…but Sora _did_. And he scanned people with it. The problem was, Neku was still able to scan Sora. Maybe his psyche was powerful, or Sora's was too weak…or, perhaps, it had something to do with what Joshua had told him.

"_But I have a player pin," Sora replied. "How is it possible that he could scan me?"_

"_Simple," Joshua replied. "He _didn't_ scan you. Or rather, he did, but it was the wrong you."_

_Both Sora and Neku exchanged confused glances. "Joshua," Neku began, "There's only one Sora here."_

_Joshua grinned that same grin he grinned when he knew something that Neku didn't. "I'm quite aware of that, Neku," the boy said. "There is only one Sora…but what you may not know is that Sora is more than one."_

Neku crossed his arms in thought. He had thought Joshua to simply be toying with him for fun, but the more he thought on it the more truth he could see. If, somehow, Sora had _two_ minds, then only one was blocked by the player pin, and the other he was able to scan. _But that's crazy. How could someone have two minds?_

Casting a stray glance to Sora, whom was soundly asleep on one of the benches outside the ramen shop, Neku pondered over the fact. For someone to have gone through so much, Sora was so…at peace. Upon their first meeting, Sora had been friendly toward Neku, right after he had scanned him and known he was there for something important. _But we're partners,_ he thought. _I know he had rules to follow, but partners trust each other. Why did he keep it for so long, and what made him finally break down and tell me?_

Neku sighed and stared at the people walking around. He had known when he scanned several people why they did certain things he saw them doing later, like going back to their house on a three-hour walk just to make sure their door was locked or picking up salt from the grocery store. He tossed his player pin idly and looked at Sora with calm eyes. _Sorry, Sora._ With that, he tapped the pin, feeling its energy shoot through his nerves, and pulled up his headphones, closing his eyes and tuning into the thoughts of the people walking down the street.

As he expected, Sora's thoughts were loudest, and he was drawn in immediately. This time, rather than the clock tower or the white room, he saw a dark city around him, filled with neon lighting and old buildings that seemed entirely functional, but weren't. There was a huge tower, atop which were several video screens that flickered. In the sky was a moon shaped like a heart. Standing right in front of him, staring at him with an indiscernible look, was the blonde-haired kid that Neku had seen before, this time in a long black trench coat rather than his city clothing.

There had never been a scan quite like this. Neku felt as though he was really there – there were storm clouds above, and the rain pelted down on his skin. He tried to pull out of the scan, but it simply didn't work. _What's going on? Where am I? How did...  
_

"Scanning Sora again?" the boy asked, with a voice quiet similar to Sora's own.

Neku was taken aback. "Er…"

The boy shook his head. "I don't blame you. The first time it happened, you got drawn into my thoughts before you could tune into anyone else's. But this time, you aimed for Sora in particular. Why?"

_This kid keeps showing up in Sora's thoughts,_ Neku mused, _And he's obviously not Sora. Just who is he?_

"I can hear you, you know."

Neku jumped a bit and staggered back. This boy – whoever he was – could hear his thoughts. How that was possible, he wasn't sure, but for now he'd have to go along with it. "Ah…right. Sorry…it's just…well…who are you?"

The boy's expression didn't change. "I'm Roxas. You're Neku, right?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Sora," Roxas said simply. "That's how."

Neku narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "That's not a very clear answer."

Roxas shrugged. "I know."

"But you _do_ know Sora, right?" Neku continued. "Could you tell me a few things?"

"Probably," Roxas replied. "It depends on what you want to know."

Neku sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "Well, I'd like to know why I scanned Sora, but instead I saw your memories rather than Sora's thoughts. I know you're not Sora, so who exactly are you?"

Roxas glanced upward at the moon…if it _was_ a moon. "You could say we're two sides of the same coin," he explained, "So Sora and I are basically the same person, but at the same time we're two completely different people."

"That makes absolutely no sense," Neku grumbled. "How does that explain how I was scanning Sora?"

"Easy," Roxas replied. "See, Sora and I basically have the same body, but we're still two different people."

"So you're Sora's split personality?"

"No! Well…sort of. I have my own mind to think with, so you probably scanned me instead of Sora."

It made sense now. Neku had gone to scan the masses, and since the player pin only protected Sora's mind, he had scanned this Roxas person's mind instead. The question was, how was he pulled in so powerfully? When he was with Joshua, he had been pulled in because his memory was with him…or at least, that's what he thought. Why was Sora's vibe so powerful? Was it because of the keyblade?

Roxas rolled his eyes. "You know, I can hear all of that."

Neku winced. "Sorry."

"Not a problem," Roxas said, waving it off. "Although, I have to admit, it's kind of weird for you to scan someone and end up in their mind like this. You really should get back, though. Sora doesn't sleep in _that_ long."

"How?" Neku asked. "I barely know how I even got in."

_**Man…when did we go to sleep? It's day five already…**_

Roxas sighed. "And that would be your cue, Neku."

"You know my name, too?"

_**Starting near the ramen shop today…maybe Neku will get us some food there again. That guy is pretty…huh? Neku…?**_

"Why do I get the feeling that's not a good voice?" Neku asked.

_**Why is he passed out on the street? He's got his headphones on…did he try to scan someone and…? Why isn't he waking up?!**_

"Go on, Neku," Roxas urged him. "Sora's going to panic if you don't."

Neku nodded, and acted completely on instinct, glancing upward at the sky. In the blink of an eye, the world went dark around him, and he felt himself collapse to the ground.

The sounds returned fast: the footsteps of people passing by, cell phones ringing, the very slight static of noise. Neku dragged his eyelids open to find that he had indeed passed out right in the middle of the sidewalk. Sora was hovered over him, shaking his shoulder roughly in attempt to awaken him. When the proxy finally showed signs of life, Sora let out a sigh of relief. "There you are…I got kinda worried."

_I can hardly believe Roxas is technically the same person as Sora,_ Neku thought. _He's way more composed. But how is he the same person?_ "I just need to be more careful when I scan, I guess…something knocked me out."

"You ganna be okay?" Sora asked, offering his hand. "It's day five."

"I'll be fine," Neku replied, taking Sora's hand and standing up. "Mission come in yet?"

On cue, Neku felt his phone vibrate and the ringtone reached his ears. Sora pulled his own phone out (still marveling at it for some reason) and flipped it open. "Well, here it is."

_Conquer yourself. You have 120 minutes. Fail, and face erasure._

_-The Reapers_

Promptly, the timer burned itself onto their hands, though at this point neither Neku nor Sora flinched because of the pain – only because of the surprise of it appearing. "Conquer yourself?" Neku mumbled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dunno," Sora replied, "But I've got a bad feeling about this. They didn't even give a proper location."

"It sounds like whatever's going to happen will be a fight," Neku suggested, "And it'll probably happen anywhere. We should head somewhere isolated so we don't affect the RG too much."

Sora agreed silently. Neku led him up the street to Pork City, making his way inside. At least, he began to, but Sora paused. "Wait a minute. Why are we going in here?"

"Pork City is basically abandoned," Neku explained. "They use it from time to time for missions during the Reaper's Game, but I've never seen anyone in the RG go in here."

Nodding in approval, Sora entered the building. When he did, Neku led him toward the elevator on the far side and punched the up button.

Nothing happened.

"It's abandoned, alright," Neku grumbled. "Not even the reapers are taking care of this place."

"Er…Neku?"

Neku turned at Sora's voice. "What's up?"

The keyblade master was staring in a different direction, stance wary. "Is this place haunted, too?"

"…no," Neku replied warily. "Well, other than us, since technically we're ghosts when we're in the Reaper's Game. Why do you ask?"

"Because the doors just closed and locked themselves."

_That_ got his attention. Neku spun on his heels and raced for the door, pulling on the handles frantically. They wouldn't budge. "The hell?! We're locked in! This wasn't part of the mission, was it?"

"I don't like this," Sora commented, approaching from his spot near the elevator. "What do we do now?"

"Well, I can't get us out," Neku grunted, kicking the door with one final angry yell. "We'll just have to figure out the mission and pass it. Hopefully when the next day comes around, we'll wake up somewhere else."

Sora stared at the ground nervously. "I don't know…the mission itself seems pretty vague. How are we supposed to conquer ourselves? We've only been given two hours to figure it out and accomplish it."

_I'd like to know that, too,_ Neku thought, staring out the small window of the door. _When I first played the game, I was so self-centered…I never cared about anyone else. It took me three weeks to finally get over that. How are we supposed to do it in two hours, unless they mean something else?_ He glanced over at Sora, whom was looking away in contemplation. _That Roxas kid that I ran into when I scanned Sora…didn't he say that they were two sides of the same coin? Maybe Sora needs to overcome Roxas or something. But what does that leave me with?_ "Hey, Sora…"

The keyblade master glanced back. "Hmm?"

"Do you happen to know anyone named Roxas?" Neku asked.

At the mention of that name, Sora went rigid. "Rox…as?"

Neku nodded, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. _Yep. He knows him alright._ "Yeah. Roxas."

Sora turned around so that he wasn't facing Neku. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

_Might as well be blunt. He's not going to listen to me otherwise._ "Who is he?"

The question had apparently been a tough one for Sora, as he sighed and remained silent for several minutes. After a while, he made his way over to the wall and sat down. "Well, we're partners, so I guess I should trust you with this. He's my Nobody."

Had his jaw not been attached to his skull, it would have hit the ground. Neku couldn't believe what he was hearing. _Sora has a Nobody?! But he told me just yesterday that a Nobody is only created when a heartless is! How could he have a nobody?! He's not a heartless!_ "What are you _talking_ about?"

"It happened two years ago," Sora began. "When my home was destroyed by the heartless, my best friend Kairi…her heart took shelter in me. I found her body, but it was so lifeless…it never responded to me. Then, I finally found out about it, and I found a keyblade that unlocks people's hearts, and used it on myself."

As Neku listened, he heard the other noises from outside or from the lights overhead began to drain away, and all he heard was Sora. The boy was evidently holding back tears, as a few sobs echoed off the stark-white walls for a while before he spoke again. "I don't remember much from then. Kairi was free, and she was herself again, but I was turned into a heartless as a price. All I knew was that I was falling into darkness, and I started forgetting things, like who I was. It was cold, and I thought I'd never know what it was to be on my own two feet again...or to run, walk, talk, anything. But Kairi's voice called out to me, somehow…and I came back. But since I became a heartless, I also had a Nobody…and that Nobody was Roxas."

"But you don't look like a heartless to me," Neku commented.

"That's because I'm not one," Sora explained, wiping one of his eyes off. "At least not anymore. If a heartless and a Nobody join back together, they become the person they used to be again. That's what happened with me and Roxas." He paused, chuckling a bit. "Sometimes Roxas tends to act through me rather than come out and talk on his own. He only did that once, then told me to 'look sharp' and disappeared again. I haven't seen him since, but I know he's there."

"Does he ever talk to you?" Neku asked.

Sora shook his head. "Not really. It's more like…if I close my eyes and focus, sometimes I can tell what's going on in his mind. Other times it's like I'm the one that's feeling it and not him."

As a moment of silence came upon them, Neku looked away in thought. _So this is what Joshua meant by Sora being "more than one,"_ he mused. _Sora and Roxas are two sides of the same coin, but they're still the same person. It must have been really hard on him to go through all that, but for the sake of his friend, he did it anyway…_

"There you are, you yoctograms."

Sora scrambled to his feet and Neku spun around, immediately taking a battle stance. He didn't bother asking who was spying on them; he knew by the slang alone. "Show yourself, Minamimoto!"

On cue, the math-obsessed reaper appeared from a swirling black portal, grinning manically. At this, Sora gasped. "How do you know how to use the corridor of darkness?!"

Minamimoto laughed. "I had a friend tell me how, you factoring hectopascal. He told me _all_ about you, Roxas…"

Sora flinched and stepped back, but Neku didn't move. Even though he held his ground, however, he couldn't help but be surprised. _How does Minamimoto know about Roxas?_

"He taught me a few new equations, too," he continued. "Factor _this_!"

With a wave of the man's hand, a pool of darkness appeared in front of him. Out of it leapt two very familiar humanoid forms, cloaked in darkness that smoked from their hands and feet. One looked strikingly similar to Sora. The other, Neku realized with a burst of fear, looked exactly like himself.

* * *

You know that saying "You are your worst enemy"? Well...yeah. XD

This chapter's mission is again influenced by an idea given to me by thekeylessdoor. Thanks!


	12. Doppelgangers

Whew…with five active fics (three crossovers, a novelization and my original story, not to mention ANOTHER idea that's cropping up that I haven't posted yet (thank heavens)) going on, I've been pretty busy. Anyway, on to chapter 12!

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Twelve: Doppelgangers**

* * *

"I remember there being a saying, you are your own worst enemy," Minamimoto taunted Sora and Neku as the twisted, darkened versions of themselves lumbered closer. "I think I'll leave you to your fun." With that, a familiar dark portal appeared and Minamimoto vanished into it.

Sora narrowed his eyes. For that guy to be able to travel using that power… "Hey! Get back here!"

"Sora!" Neku cried. "We've got bigger problems right now!"

The keyblade master spun around just in time to evade a blow sent by Neku's shadow. Meanwhile, his own was headed for Neku. He scoffed. _Just great. They might as well pit me against Neku himself._

Anti-Neku sent a stream of dark flame crawling along the ground toward Sora, whom didn't have time to dodge. Screaming in pain from the flames, Sora stumbled and fell to the ground, watching as the shadow approached him.

It was haunting, like he was fighting against his best friend again. He vividly remembered his struggle against Riku when Xehanort's heartless took him over; he was barely able to even land a blow on his friend due to fear alone. This encounter was no different, but with Neku it was not only harder to survive but harder to fight back. Gritting his teeth, Sora whipped out the keyblade – something he dully noted he should have done several minutes ago when Minamimoto showed his face – and struck the shade square on the ribs.

He quickly wished he hadn't.

The darkened replica of Neku screamed in pain with a voice not unlike his real counterpart, but the voice echoed oddly. Sora was about to ponder the subject when he found that it hadn't been an echo, but Neku had screamed at the same time. His pain, however, was not caused by Anti-Sora's attack. "Neku!" Sora cried. "You okay?"

"I wish I knew," the teen replied. "Suddenly I feel like I broke five ribs at once!"

_It can't be,_ Sora thought, sneering. _When I hit Neku's shadow, he felt it, too! These things are living voodoo dolls! _He was about to comfort Neku when he found that Anti-Sora was also stumbling from the hit. _What the…_

"I think they're both paired up like we are," Neku said, dodging a swing from a pitch-black keyblade, "Only when they're hit, we feel it too!"

Sora muttered a swear under his breath and backed away, resorting to parrying Anti-Neku's attacks. "How are we supposed to beat them if we'll be erased right alongside them?"

Neku didn't respond, but narrowed his eyes suddenly. Without warning, he charged forward, letting loose a barrage of lightning bolts at his own shadow. Anti-Neku stumbled and cried out, but Neku himself wasn't harmed. "I get it!" he cried. "If we fight our own shadows, we won't get hurt!"

"How is that supposed to work if yours likes coming after me and mine enjoys kicking _your_ butt?" Sora replied, rolling out of the way of a stream of black fire and sending his own flames shooting into his shadow's back, wincing when he heard his own voice scream in pain.

"Less talk, more fight!" Neku cried as he jumped, using Anti-Sora's head as a stepping stone (Sora wasn't too happy about that, but thankfully the resulting headache was tolerable) and shooting several bullets of light crashing into his own shade. Sora took the chance to perform a flurry of Ars Arcanum on his own shadow before firing off several bolts of ice to put salt in the wound. Hearing his own voice cry out was still horrifying, but he knew he had to overcome this.

_If we don't clear this mission,_ Sora told himself, _Then there's more at stake than just my life._

It was only after Sora pulled off a long string of attacks on his shadow that it cried out and dispersed into wisps of darkness. He spun to Neku, whom was unleashing his pin psyches left and right on what little vitality his own shadow had left after sharing the beating Anti-Sora had taken. Had it not been for the fact that they were in danger of losing their afterlives, it would have been a rather captivating dance to watch. Flames trailed along the ground. Lightning bolts and projectiles of pure light shot from his hands. Gigantic icicles shot up from the ground and threw the shadow into the air. Neku even pulled a new one when he slashed the air with his hand and a gigantic barbed wire chain shot across in front of him, catching the doppelganger on the throat and ultimately destroying him. Their shadows gone, the duo fell to their knees and gasped for breath.

"I never want to do that again," Neku said, shuddering.

Sora couldn't agree more. Though adrenalin had helped him push through the battle, the horror of seeing himself scream and hearing Neku shout out in agony was something he didn't plan on reliving. "You ganna be okay?" Sora asked, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He could still barely hear the echoes of their own screams in his mind.

Neku kept his gaze locked on the ground. "Two more days," he said. "That long, and it'll all be over, and we'll come back to life like Joshua promised."

"Joshua?" Sora echoed, narrowing his eyes. The fact alone that Neku trusted the one that had killed him put Sora on edge, but Neku was trustworthy, so he followed him. But now… "What does he have to do with this?"

The boy's response to Sora's question was interesting to say the least. He froze on the spot, eyes widening. Sora knew the _oops_ look anywhere, no matter who was wearing it. Neku had just let something slip. "Er…actually-"

"The composer is the only one that can restore us, right?" Sora said, standing up and crossing his arms. "I thought Joshua was just some really knowledgeable kid that helped out Mr. H in his shop. How does he have the power to bring us back?"

Neku stood, eyes still locked downward, his shoulders sinking. "Sora…I'm sorry I never told you, but…"

_I'm not going to like this, am I?_ Sora thought, narrowing his eyes. "What is it, Neku?"

With a sigh, Neku faced Sora with what little bravery he must have managed to salvage from the previous fight. "Sora, Joshua is the composer."

The words hit him like a mountain of bricks. How could it have been possible? That slimy, egotistical _murderer_ was the one running the Reaper's Game?! Sora felt an intense anger well up from within him. "Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded softly.

Neku had a strange look of shame on his face. "Sora, I-"

"Partners are supposed to trust each other," Sora continued, gritting his teeth. "But you didn't. Why?!" Neku began to speak again, but Sora cut him off. "Thanks to that slimeball, the real me has a gigantic hole in the back of his head, most of the restoration committee probably thinks I'm gone for good, and I'm stuck doing his dirty work unless I feel like no longer existing!"

"You think you're the only one?!" Neku shot back. "I had to put up with him for a week, and he used me to try and jack the whole city!"

Sora paused in his tracks, practically hearing car brakes slamming on in his head. "What?"

"Joshua tried to jack Shibuya," Neku continued. "He used me as a tool in this whole game. Because of me, this place would probably not exist if he hadn't changed his mind! He killed me just so I'd be in the UG, and he made himself my partner so no matter how angry I got with him I'd have to suck up to him or else I was doomed! You think you're the only one that has to deal with that snot-nosed brat? Think again!" With that, Neku charged out of the building, leaving Sora at loss for words.

Sora could hardly believe it. He had lost his temper with one of his own friends, only to have something worse shoved into his face. He couldn't afford mistakes like that in this game, whatever it was. And he had just made one.

"Neku, wait!" Sora cried as he raced toward the doors.

* * *

A familiar ringtone caught Shiki's attention. Stopping in her tracks on the sidewalk, she called out to Beat and Rhyme. "Hang on, guys. I just got a text."

"Can't it wait?" Beat complained. "We're almost there, yo!"

"Patience is a virtue," Rhyme pointed out, much to the skater's dismay.

Mouthing a quick thank-you to Rhyme, Shiki prodded the buttons on her phone with expertise – after going through an entire week where they got text messages every day, she had become quite good at it. When she opened up the message, her eyes widened. "Guys…it's from Mr. Hanekoma."

Beat's eyes bulged from his skull in shock. "Him?! What's he want?"

"It says that two days from now, we need to be in the Shibuya River," Shiki explained. "He said to bring our psyches with us, because we'll need them."

"How come?" Rhyme asked. "Psyches don't work in the RG. And why do we need to go to the River?"

"Prolly needs us to help Phones," Beat concluded. "The one part past the river's where the RG and UG overlap, kinda like with the shops and stuff."

Shiki would have normally joked about Beat acting smart for once, but whenever the Reaper's Game was the subject, he was actually quite knowledgeable, and took it very seriously. Instead, she nodded. "If I'm right, day seven is then. That's probably what he needs us to do. You guys okay with skipping school to wait for them?"

To this, Beat gawked. "You're _actually_ wanting to skip school?! Who are you and what have you done to Shiki?"

"This is serious, Beat," Rhyme said, taking on a strange tone of authority in her voice. "If what you say is right, Neku's going to need our help with something. You still have that skateboard, right?"

Beat stuttered, but nodded. "Yeah. What time you guys wanna meet?"

"Ten o'clock sound good?" Shiki asked. When the other two nodded, she finally flipped her phone and put it in her pocket. "Okay. We're not going until two days from now, so we've got plenty of time to come up with excuses. I'll meet you guys at the station underpass, okay?"

"Got it," Beat replied, his face full of determination. "I'll be there on time, yo. Promise"

Shiki smiled and glanced at the sky before continuing down the sidewalk with her friends, knowing that as she did, there were probably people just a few feet away battling for their lives. It didn't comfort her – it never did – but she knew she could do nothing. She crossed her fingers. _Neku…hang in there._

* * *

Yeah, another shortie. Sorry 'bout that, but I really wanted to update this thing.


	13. Friction

I apologize for the last chapter having been rushed…but I hope this one will be much better. I had more than one person suggest this for the mission – one of them was Hero Slayer. If I didn't mention you, I'm sorry! x.x

_**Warning. There is language in this chapter. Lewk out.**_

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Thirteen: Friction**

* * *

Leon sat up from his sleeping spot, staring at the phone message he had received that morning. It was from someone calling themselves 'the composer,' and he had requested both he and Yuffie to be at a place called the Shibuya River the next day. Sora hadn't contacted them for a while, which meant he was either dead for good or simply busy. Leon tried not to concern himself over this, but truth be told, it was still rough for him. Knowing that your best hope for ending the heartless menace once and for all is dead is a rather frightening thought.

It was even more frightening that he was still fighting in his new, twisted afterlife.

After a few minutes of contemplation, Leon shook Yuffie awake. The young ninja groaned in protest. "What is it, Squall?"

"Leon," the man corrected her automatically. "We've got a mail from someone asking us to come to the Shibuya River. We're going to look for Sora and see if he can help us."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "We can't see Sora, Leon. How do you plan on finding him?"

"By waiting patiently," Leon grumbled. "Now, come on. We might as well go get some breakfast or something while we're at it."

* * *

Sora woke up the next morning back at the scramble crossing. Neku was still fast asleep on the sidewalk, so Sora had time to himself before the boy woke up. Vaguely recalling Neku's comment on hearing music when he scanned, Sora pulled out his player pin and examined it carefully. "Well, I can't do anything until Neku wakes up," he mused aloud, pulling on its energies as he closed his eyes.

He hadn't scanned in a while, but he still knew how to pull it off. Weaving his way past the many thoughts, Sora found that indeed there was music playing. He smiled, tapping his foot to the beat; it sounded a lot like something Yuffie would be caught playing on her radio back at Radiant Garden. The song was actually quite catchy. _No wonder Neku likes it so much._

Not wanting to risk getting caught in any noise, Sora ceased the scan and put away the pin just as Neku was waking up. "Scramble Crossing again today," Sora began.

Neku didn't say a word. Instead he rubbed his shoulder oddly and looked away.

Sora sighed. "Something bothering you?"

"Like hell there is," Neku grumbled.

_He's obviously still upset from yesterday,_ Sora thought with a groan.

_**You think?**_

_Oh, be quiet. You're not helping._ Sora shook his head and took another approach. "I'm sorry for blowing up on you yesterday," he said. "It wasn't like me, and it wasn't right of me to do. You're in the same spot as I am, so we-"

"I'm _not_ in the same spot that you are," Neku replied, his anger swiftly rising, "So don't even _try_ to relate. This is my _fourth_ time through this damn game and it's not getting any easier since those heartless things are running around. I'm sick and tired of being just a tool in someone else's plan. I don't know why the hell Joshua isn't intervening directly in this, and I doubt that bastard will ever tell me. Minamimoto is pulling strings behind the heartless, and even though this time I'm fighting on the right side, I'm _still_ being used! I'm sick of it! And to top it off, you've been keeping secrets this whole time! I bet you could have fixed this whole thing up in a snap, but you had to keep quiet, didn't you?"

It took much of Sora's patience to keep calm; Neku was _very_ intimidating when he was angry. "If I said anything, the heartless would have gotten worse, and Shibuya would be beyond saving."

"You couldn't even save your own home, Sora," Neku hissed angrily. "What do you know about saving _anything_?"

_He did _not_ just say that._

_**Sora, don't!**_

Neku continued, his fists clenched. "You have _no_ idea what it's like to end up being a pawn for a jerk who just wants to destroy all you know! I've even had one of my own friends turned against me, and he tried to _kill_ me! What do you know about helping _anyone_? The only thing you seem to care about is whether or not your friends know you're okay!"

At this point, Neku had crossed the line. Sora's eyes narrowed to slits in anger, and his blood began to boil. His fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails threatened to draw blood from the skin on his palms. The keyblade master was so angry, he did the first thing that came to mind without thinking about the consequences in any way whatsoever.

He punched Neku in the face.

The music-loving teenager fell backward, skidding against the pavement. There were a few scrapes on his arms and legs where he had fallen on the asphalt, as well as a bit of blood here and there, and he held his cheek in astonishment. Sora didn't spare a drop of anger in his gaze at the boy.

"I'll tell you what I know," Sora said, the calm tone in his voice betraying the anger on his face. "No, I couldn't keep my home from being destroyed, but even with it back, I can't go home until the fighting is over. I was being used for my enemies' purpose, and I knew I was even while I kept going. Every time I killed a heartless, which I had to whether I wanted to or not, they would use that heart for their own reasons, and they had more power to hurt me with. I can't help everyone, Neku, but in case you didn't notice, I didn't have a choice in _any_ of this, and I'm sure you didn't either."

Neku continued to stare at Sora like he had grown three heads. Satisfied that he had the boy's attention, the keyblade master continued. "I saw a storm on the islands, went to check on things and my best friend was swallowed up by the darkness, and the keyblade just showed up in my hand. Before I knew it, the islands were literally _gone_, and so were my friends. I wound up somewhere that I didn't know, and no one looked familiar. I didn't ask for _any_ of it, Neku. It just _happened_, and I had no choice." With that, he looked away.

There was a bit of silence, and Sora found himself listening very closely to the passing crowd. Indeed, he heard that music playing, just like Neku told him it always was. Over the hustle and bustle of the city, it was harder to catch, but it was there. It gave the city life, and calmed his nerves somehow. To think, Neku had defended this place…as crazy a world as it was, Sora couldn't help but feel at home there for some reason. "I know this place is important to you, Neku," Sora began, "Just like the islands were important to me. That's why I'm going to help you defend it with everything I have."

From behind him, Neku stepped forward, a contemplative look on his face. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Completely changing gears, Sora grinned and shrugged. "Well, I made a pact, didn't I?" he said, offering his hand. "Besides, we've got two more missions to go. Let's clean this place up, shall we?"

For a while, Neku looked hesitant, to which Sora retrieved his hand and patted the boy's shoulder with it. "Neku," he began, "The way I see it, you're not being used if what you're fighting for is what you hold close to your heart."

Neku grinned. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry I yelled at you."

Sora shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

On cue, their phones rang. Sora jerked an enthusiastic fist in the air. "Mission time!" he said. "You ready to kick butt, Neku?"

"Am I ever," The boy replied, pulling out his phone. "Let's see…oh, wow."

"What is it?" Sora asked, pulling out his phone. "Oh…wow."

_Promote the dragon. You have 60 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. -The Reapers_

The timer embedded itself into Sora's skin, and quickly the grimace of pain was changed into confusion. "Promote the dragon?" he repeated. "How are we supposed to do that?"

"It's a trend mission," Neku explained, sounding none too thrilled. "The GM of this game probably threw it in to get rid of any suspicion and to throw off Minamimoto."

Sora scratched his head. "But what exactly is a trend mission?" he asked.

Neku took a deep breath. "Basically, you have to make a brand of clothing popular in Shibuya."

_He talks about it like there's nothing to it._

_**You do the same thing, you know.**_

_Shut up._

"How do you go around making stuff popular when people can't even see you?" Sora asked.

"I don't get it either," Neku replied, "But if we wear certain clothes or use certain pins when we fight, it reacts to the RG's…vibe, or something…and it makes it popular. I have no clue how it works, so don't ask."

Sora glanced down at the clothes he was wearing. These had been a gift from Yen Sid and the fairies in the tower. "Can't we go with pins or something?" he said. "I kind of like these clothes."

Neku nodded. "Yeah. I'll do the dress up; I've got plenty of pins, too. Dragon Couture isn't nearly as bad as Natural Puppy at least…"

Judging by the look on Neku's face, Natural Puppy was not an enjoyable brand of clothing. Sora didn't press the issue.

The two made their way down the streets (there were no walls, luckily for Sora, so he didn't have to worry about unsealing anything and getting questions from Neku) to the store nestled on the third floor of a building behind the 104 tower. Neku scrounged some yen out of his pocket for the clothing, which was all very expensive. He ended up with a pair of goat leather boots, a white, sleeveless button-up shirt and a black suit to go over it. He refused to remove his headphones, which gave the otherwise formal appearance an odd look.

"You look like a businessman," Sora said dryly.

Neku rolled his eyes. "Whatever. What's the damage, Mister Odajima?"

The man replied with a considerably sizable five-digit number. Sora felt the color drain from his face, and Neku reluctantly handed over a very large wad of money. The clothes bought, they headed outside, with Neku walking rather stiffly in his new attire; he had kept his original clothes safely tucked in the bag he carried out. "So, what now?" Sora asked.

"We fight noise," Neku replied. "We don't have to fight too many since the effect is pretty fast, but Dragon Couture is a bit low on the charts, so we'll probably be fighting for a while."

Sora summoned his keyblade. "Ready when you are. May I have the honor of scanning?"

* * *

Joshua sipped casually at his cappuccino as he thumbed through the newspaper. Not that the RG had ever interested him, but it was nice to know what his proxy was dealing with. Being Composer had its boring moments, and he enjoyed knowing about events other than the Reaper's Game. Besides, with Hanekoma busy dealing with his own…affairs, he needed something to occupy the time while the shop was still empty.

"…might as well get something from here."

The boy's face snapped up to see two strange individuals approaching the front doors. Had he not had the powers of the Composer, he probably would have passed them as tourists, but he knew better. One of them wore a black jacket and matching pants, with the collar of his jacket lined with some type of fur (or was it?), as well as a white shirt, a lion-shaped necklace and too many belts to be normal. The other one with him, the girl that had spoken before the bell above the door had alerted him to their presence, was a much slimmer build, wearing tall laced-up boots, black shorts, and a slimming black tank top, combined with a similar headband.

_Squall and Yuffie. Acquaintances of Sora's._

Joshua smiled that same smile he had always given Neku. "Welcome to WildKat," he said. "May I help you?"

"How much are your cappuccinos?" Yuffie asked.

Squall rolled his eyes and rubbed his head. "We don't have any more yen, Yuffie."

"But I'm thirsty!" Yuffie argued placing her hands on her hips.

Joshua winked at the two as he headed behind the counter. "Don't worry, I've been expecting you two anyway, so it's on the house."

"Expecting us?" Yuffie echoed, cocking an eyebrow. Squall eyed him with suspicion.

"Yes, both of you. Now let's see…" Joshua gave them both a long, calculating look. "You are…Yuffie Kisaragi and Squall Leonhart, am I right?"

"That's Leon," Squall said.

"Leon then," Joshua said, turning back to the machine behind him. "It would seem you're searching for the Shibuya River, correct?"

Both of the warriors blinked at him. _Mmm, priceless. I do so enjoy this._ "I can tell you where it is, if you'd like."

Leon crossed his arms. "Then do it. We really need to know where it is."

Joshua chuckled. "I assure you, there's no rush. Sora's just fine, I've made sure of it."

"You know Sora?" Yuffie asked, apparently amazed.

"Of course I do," the composer replied, handing her the cappuccino she had ordered. "He stopped in with Neku to speak with the shop's owner earlier this week. Since the owner is away, I've been minding the shop, and he sent me a text telling me to wait for you two and fill you in."

"Why should we trust you?" Leon demanded calmly.

Joshua grinned. "I help run much more than just this coffee shop, you know. Now, about the River…"


	14. Six Down

Okay, guys, I'm aware that this chappie is pretty short in comparison to the others, but there wasn't much I could put here that wasn't in day seven. Other stuff would give away some major spoilers, like who the GM is.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Fourteen: Six Down  
**

* * *

Minamimoto grumbled angrily to himself. This cloaked man had promised him power over the heartless in exchange for having the little beasts show him where the keyhole was. It had been going smoothly earlier; they ran about the UG, sniffing out where this keyhole whatever-it-was should have been, but the moment Sora appeared they had instantly refocused their efforts on him. Though it was convenient, as they were also attacking proxy-boy, they were slowing him down.

"The heartless fear the keyblade above all else," the cloaked man explained. "That's why they go after it: to get rid of it."

"Can't I get them to focus on the keyhole?" Minamimoto grumbled. "Those yoctograms are about as cooperative as a mule."

The cloaked man crossed his arms. "Need I remind you who gave you this power to begin with?" he said coolly. "I can take it away just as easily, and turn it against you."

Scowling, Minamimoto walked away, deciding not to press the issue further. The sixth mission of the week didn't focus on eliminating heartless, anyway. Whoever the GM was, he must have known that the math fanatic was onto him. Once out of eyeshot of the hooded man, he snapped his fingers and summoned a few heartless. "Find the keyhole," he said simply. "And find it _now_."

Behind him, the cloaked figure grinned.

* * *

By the time they were finished with their mission, Neku was exhausted. The numbing sensation on his hand caused by the timer vanishing was more of a relief than changing into more casual clothing would be. "Finally!" he moaned. "I can get _out_ of this thing."

"You're not going to change in the middle of the street, are you?" Sora asked. "Won't people…um…

Neku rolled his eyes. "Sora, we're _invisible_. No one can see us. But no, I'm not changing here. There's a Sunshine Burger nearby, so we'll run in and get a bite to eat there."

Sora seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and Neku led him into the burger shop. After asking Sora to pick a seat, he headed into the bathroom and swapped out of the Dragon Couture attire he had been required to wear, shoving the purchased clothes deep into the bag with no intention of ever putting them on again. Once done, he tugged his headphones into place on his neck again headed back into the Sunshine, ordered the usual, and headed for the table where Sora sat.

"The game is a week long, right?" Sora asked, his eyes fixed to the table strangely.

Neku noticed that the keyblade was not in his hand, and cocked an eyebrow. _Where does he put that thing, anyway?_ "Yeah," he replied. "And today's day six. Tomorrow we'll get out last mission, and then it'll all be over."

Sora leaned back in his chair. "Time sure flies, doesn't it…it's like just yesterday I was waking up in the scramble and staring at that weird text message I got."

"I thought it was spam when I got my first one," Neku admitted, sitting back as the waitress delivered them their meal. "And I tried deleting it. When it didn't work, I got the timer on my hand, and I thought I was going crazy."

"I can't picture you freaking out," Sora said, smirking. "You're way too calm about all this.

Neku laughed. "Well, I was new to it all, so I did. My memory was my first entry fee, so I didn't even know where I was. I met up with Shiki and she just started yelling some nonsense about a pact and noise. I had no clue what she was talking about, and I tried to lose her in the crowd at the scramble. We really didn't get along at first…"

Sora crossed his arms. "I wouldn't think so. I'd probably run if someone talked crazy to me too…if I wasn't in the position I am now."

"What do you mean?" Neku asked.

"Well," Sora began, pausing and glancing around warily. "I normally don't tell people this, but since you already know where I'm from, I guess it wouldn't hurt…just as long as you don't tell _anyone_."

"My lips are sealed," Neku replied. "Go ahead."

Sora took a deep breath. "Well, when I first left my islands, I wound up on a place called Traverse Town. I met up with some people there that helped me look for my friends, and their king who had gone missing. We had to go to all kinds of different worlds to look for them."

Neku quirked an eyebrow. "Like what?"

The keyblade master's eyes lit up at the question, and Neku could guess what was going to happen next. "Well, the first one I went to made no sense…"

Sora spoke for a while after the question, and surprisingly Neku found himself interested in what places he had visited. He couldn't quite imagine a place where one would be able to walk on the ceiling, but the desert town with a treasure-filled cave sounded interesting. Being swallowed by a whale sounded like no picnic. Sora had a hard time explaining how he had been able to visit a world entirely underwater, much to Neku's amusement, and flying seemed like a _very_ fun experience. Sora also made a side note of a world where the holidays originated, a world plagued by undead pirates and cursed treasure (Sora winced at the memory, but never told Neku why), and a large savannah where he had run around as a lion. When Neku asked Sora how the latter went, he just laughed and said that when you have twice the number of legs you can run twice as fast, but he began to miss his thumbs.

"Have there been any worlds like Shibuya?" Neku asked.

Upon hearing the question, Sora sat back. "Well, there was one place I went to that had tournaments held every so often that I'd enter. You could practically walk right into the underworld, but unless you had the Olympus Stone, you'd have your strength sapped out of you. There was a guy who helped me get out of there the first time…he didn't admit it, but I'm pretty sure he was a hero when he was alive." He paused in thought. "Aside from that, I went to one place that was kind of like an abandoned city, but it was crawling with heartless and I didn't stay there for long. It was constantly night time there, and there weren't any people living in the buildings. I still get chills up my spine when I think about it, because past there was the Organization's stronghold."

Neku's eyes widened. "You went up against the entire organization?"

"Not all at once," Sora said hastily. "I only went up against…" He counted on his fingers. "Six of them. Three of them were already dead when I got there, and Riku told me later that he had to face two of them at one point. Axel turned traitor and helped me get to them, but he sacrificed himself in the process."

For some reason, Sora choked on the words, biting his lip and staring firmly at the table. After a moment, he shook his head and rubbed his eye, looking a bit startled. Neku blinked. "You okay, Sora?"

"Yeah," Sora replied. "It's just…Roxas. He knew Axel. They were best friends."

Neku nodded quietly in reply. _So this is what happens when Roxas shows emotion through Sora, huh? Sora seems kind of upset in his own right, though…_

"Roxas was part of Organization XIII, too," Sora continued. "They were using him, too, because he had the keyblade, so he stayed for a while. But then he quit. Didn't get the answers he wanted. Riku told me that he left because he wanted to meet me, and eventually he did."

"How come?" Neku asked. "He's basically the same person as you, isn't he?"

Sora scoffed for a moment, and for a moment Neku thought he had offended him. He began to apologize when Sora shook his head. "Sorry…he doesn't like being compared to me."

Neku winced. "Oh…sorry, Roxas."

"I'm not sure why he wanted to meet me," Sora continued, dropping the issue. "But the keyblade chooses people with strong hearts. Nobodies don't have hearts, so Roxas wasn't sure why he was able to use it. I guess he got it from me because he's my Nobody." There was a pause while Sora crossed his arms, and he gritted his teeth a few moments after. "Knock it off. It's not _my_ fault."

"Quit arguing," Neku said plainly. "People are going to think you're crazy."

"Sorry," Sora said, looking entirely apologetic. Neku wondered how he could pull off such a look with hair like that.

Neku shrugged. "Anyway," he said, "Why did you come to Shibuya, anyway? I know you were here to get rid of the heartless, but that's not really why you're here, is it?"

Sora shook his head. "Not entirely. Every world has a heart, just like a person does. When the heartless attack that heart, that world is lost, but if you seal the keyhole to that world, the heartless can't reach it. The keyblade can lock and unlock anything, and those keyholes aren't an exception. I mainly came here to find the keyhole and seal it without getting caught in trouble…no matter how hard I try though, I always get caught up in some life or death struggle before I can get to it."

"That sounds thoroughly annoying," Neku commented.

"The heartless are scared of the keyblade more than anything," Sora explained, "So they'll keep going after it no matter what. It's their greatest enemy."

Neku stared at Sora's hand, which was currently grasping his cola cup. Moments before, the keyblade was in that same hand, cutting down the heartless and noise that attacked them, and he had been fighting for a good two years. It had to be tiring for him. "Do you ever think the heartless will be gone for good?"

Sora sighed. "I'm not sure. As long as there's darkness in people's hearts, the heartless will keep coming. The most I can do is seal the worlds and keep them safe. If I don't, then I don't know anyone else that will. Everyone's counting on me." He took another sip of his soda, then went for his burger.

_Talk about pressure,_ Neku observed. _He talked about those worlds he visited like they were amazing, and I know they were…but to deal with a constant threat like that, I wonder how he sleeps at night._

"Tomorrow's the last day, right?" Sora continued, changing the subject. "If the keyhole is in the UG, we'll need to find it fast. Is there any place that's really peaceful around here, or really important?"

"Shibuya is full of chaos," Neku said. "The only calm place you'll find is past the sewers, down at the Shibuya River. That's where I fought the conductor in my last game, and after that Joshua brought me and the others back to life. Hachiko is a popular hangout spot, but I don't know if it would be there. There's no other place that I can think of."

Sora sighed. "We'll just have to look, I guess. But if it's in the UG, we're only going to get one more chance to find it."

* * *

One day left...I can't believe this fic is ending so soon!


	15. The Beginning of the End

And so, the final day commences! Many of your questions will probably be answered here, and thus the final mission shall commence. I'm already seeing you guys make guesses on the GM, and I'm sure several of you will be surprised who it is…

I apologize for the wait on this chapter, but it's long(er) this time and there are some action scenes for you guys! :D

This fic has over 100 reviews?! NO WAY. You guys rock.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Fifteen: The Beginning Of The End**

* * *

Neku awoke in the Scramble Crossing the next day with a renewed vigor. He found that Sora was already awake, his eyes closed and hands in a familiar pose around his ears. Anyone else would think he was meditating, but Neku could tell that he was scanning the crowd. The boy was tapping his foot ever so slightly – he had probably caught wind of the music that Neku had mentioned – and there was a slight breeze that ruffled his hair. Standing next to Sora was a ghostly figure in familiar, more light-colored clothing, nearly the same face, and spiked blonde hair. The boy also seemed to be listening, but he was far more aware of his surroundings.

_Roxas?_

Roxas glanced at Neku momentarily and held a finger over his lips, motioning for Neku to be quiet. "He woke up in a nervous wreck," he whispered, somehow audible over the passing crowd, "So he decided to scan and calm himself down. I think he's just weaving his way past all the noise and thoughts and focusing on that music."

"I can hardly see Sora being a nervous wreck," Neku replied. "The most worry I've seen out of him was when he found out he was dead."

"He has his moments," Roxas replied, looking at Sora thoughtfully. "I sort of wonder, too. I mean, he's been torn from his home and thrown into the middle of a universal war, then he's handed the most powerful weapon that war and barely knows how to go along with all of it. Then he had his memories taken apart and filled with lies, then he was put to sleep for a whole year while they were put back together again. After that he had to deal with even more heartless and Organization XIII, who was using him and hurting him in so many ways."

Neku gave a low whistle. "And he keeps a smile on his face the whole time?" he asked. "I'd never be able to pull that off. I can't count the number of times I got pissed while I was playing the game."

Roxas looked upward for a moment at the several clouds in the sky. "Sometimes, Sora really gets in a wreck because of it all. I mean, he's only fifteen and he's got to deal with all this and worry about if he'll ever go home. From what I found in his memory, he was waiting for his mom to call him down for dinner when the storm started up and the whole mess started. He knows everyone is counting on him, so he just takes a 'grin and bear it' approach, but sometimes he goes somewhere alone for some time to himself, like the village cave in the Land of Dragons or the old desert ruins in Agrabah. Here he doesn't have the choice of being anywhere alone, so he just scans."

"Where would you go?" Neku asked.

There was a moment of contemplation, and a pained look crossed Roxas's face. "I'm Sora's Nobody, so when he's alone, I'm alone too. Most of the time I just go to that place I took you to, in my part of his mind, but there are places I like to go that Sora will go to because of my influence, I guess. Like, I always liked to sit on top of the clock tower in Twilight Town, so he goes there too."

"I thought you didn't like being compared to Sora," Neku said, tilting his head a bit.

"I don't," Roxas replied, shaking his head, "But it's something I've had to accept. I'm okay with just being a shadow, really. It's not all that bad. Sometimes it's hard because I know I can't have any friends of my own, though…" he looked away.

Neku sighed. "I can't begin to imagine what that's like."

Roxas grinned. "Then don't. Besides, it's not so bad. People get confused when Sora buys two ice creams instead of one, though, and he's kinda interesting to watch."

It wasn't hard to figure out what Roxas meant. The way Sora stood there, scanning…it wasn't very different from someone trying to focus, but there was just something peaceful about it that he couldn't put his finger on. Neku began to hear a tune in his ears: a soft and upbeat one, a lot like something Shiki would listen to.

"Ready to save the world, Neku?" Roxas asked with a grin.

"Am I ever," Neku replied.

Nodding in approval, Roxas closed his eyes, an expression of peace falling over him. A blue light began to surround his figure, causing him to fade ever-so-gradually, and when he did, the same blue light surrounded Sora for a brief moment. Neku blinked at the display for a moment, but jerked himself out of staring when he noticed Sora letting his hands fall from next to his ears. He turned around, giving Neku a reassuring smile. "You finally awake?"

Deciding not to mention his conversation with Sora's nobody, Neku nodded. "Yeah. I saw you scanning and didn't want to bother you…"

Sora looked away thoughtfully. "I was kinda nervous this morning, so I thought if I found the music you were talking about, I'd calm down. It was a bit hard to get past everyone's thoughts and the noise that kept showing up, but when I found it I couldn't help but listen."

A familiar ringing reached Neku's ears. "Speaking of listening," he said, "It looks like we've got our last mission for the week." He flipped open the phone and stared at the screen, opening his mouth to read the mission aloud but instead staring. "Sora…you might wanna take a look."

"Huh?" The keyblade master pulled out his own phone and flipped it open.

_Come to the Shibuya River. Bring your player pins._

"This is our last mission?" Sora wondered aloud. "No time limit? No 'Signed, your pal the reaper'? What's up with this?"

Neku narrowed his eyes. "That _is_ kinda weird…but then again, this whole week has been. I mean, normally the reapers are out to get _rid_ of the players, but in this game the GM has them _helping_ us."

"Who is the GM, anyway?" Sora asked.

"The first time around it was some guy obsessed with food," Neku replied. "The week after it was Minamimoto. The third week it was someone we nicknamed the Iron Maiden… I dunno who they would pick this week unless Kariya decided to finally move up, but we saw him with Uzuki so that's not possible."

Sora paused for a moment, his eyes closed and his arms crossed. "We should just head in and clear the mission. We'll probably find out there."

"Sounds like an idea," Neku said. "No use worrying about it now. Let's finish this."

"It wasn't _my_ idea," Sora began, grinning knowingly. "Lead the way, Neku."

Nodding in approval, Neku headed down the street at a running pace with Sora following closely behind.

* * *

Leon and Yuffie didn't see what was so important about a _sewer_, but they had gone in anyway at Joshua's urging. Yuffie in particular wasn't too fond of the place; there was graffiti everywhere, and piles of trash scattered about, including a vending machine that had been smashed into the ground by some unknown forcc. Leon just took it in stride, and led her further down the tunnel.

"We're supposed to wait somewhere," he said, "But that kid didn't tell us where."

"Are you sure this isn't a trap?" Yuffie questioned him.

Leon nodded. "That kid knew Sora. Besides, he knew who we were. As much as he grates on my nerves, I'm sure he's not an enemy."

Yuffie wasn't so sure. She continued walking, pondering Leon's words (and doubting them) when she suddenly had the sensation of physically slamming into a brick wall. Crying out and stumbling back, the ninja looked up in time to see a pattern of hexagons vanish, leaving the path ahead look just as passable as before. "What the…"

"A wall, huh?" Leon mumbled, drawing his gunblade and prodding at the wall with his free hand. The hexagons rippled momentarily. Narrowing his eyes in contemplation, he drew back his gunblade and sliced at the wall. It bounced off. "Looks like we can't go any further."

"What are we supposed to wait here for, anyway?" Yuffie asked, pulling her shuriken from its place on her back. "He just told us to come here but he didn't tell us what for."

Leon stared at the ground. "I've got a feeling it has to do with Sora and Neku."

Yuffie quirked an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

"This is their last day if we've counted right," Leon replied calmly. "Besides, that Joshua boy seemed to know plenty. There's something about him I couldn't brush off."

"The fact that he's a jerk?" Yuffie grumbled.

Leon shook his head. "No…the fact that he knew who we were looking for."

* * *

Sora and Neku ran wildly down the street past Hachiko and toward the station underpass. They ignored all of their surroundings and ran through people, cars, and just about everything else. They screeched to a halt when they found that the pass was blocked by a series of barbed wire and a large symbol that reminded Sora of one of the noise. "A dead end?" Sora grumbled.

"No," Neku replied. "Beat and I managed to go in here once...on the last day of his game. The wall was already broken when we got here. Why's it back in place again?"

Narrowing his eyes in contemplation, Sora felt a familiar twinge of light in his heart, and glanced down to see the keyblade in his hand. An idea went off in his head, and he held one hand out to motion Neku away. "Stand back. I think I can unlock it."

Neku quirked an eyebrow, but stepped back anyway. "Unlock?" he echoed. "Can that thing really unlock _anything_?"

"Sure can," Sora replied. "Let's hope it works on this, too." He whipped the keyblade into position as he had instinctively done so many times before. Light gathered at the tip for a few seconds, forming into a sizable, incredibly beautiful sphere of pure radiance before converging on the tip and shooting forward into a bright white beam. It impacted with the noise symbol and shattered it, causing the barbed wire to disintegrate.

Neku's jaw dropped. "Whoa…"

Sora gripped the keyblade tightly. "Path's open. Let's go."

They did. Stepping through the entrance, Sora suddenly found himself in a large sewer tunnel, covered in graffiti and littered with debris. He paused, taking in the sight with wide eyes. The sound of rushing water caught his ears, but he could not yet see any water. _No wonder it's called the Shibuya River. But I don't see any water…_

"There's no one here," Neku said.

"I doubt that," Sora replied. "Maybe we have to just go farther in." He began to step forward when he felt hesitation rise up within him. He listened as hard as he could, but only the sound of rushing water reached his ears. "Neku…I don't hear anything."

Neku blinked. "Huh?"

"I don't hear anything," Sora repeated. "Not even the music in Shibuya…it's gone."

"I know," Neku replied, shuddering. "I'm not too fond of this place, either. Let's hurry up."

There was no argument. They started forward, heading past the piles of rubbish and toward the sound of the water. Sora was somehow relieved to find that the sound was indeed from water, but there was a path over it that he barely expected to see: one that reminded him strongly of the noise. "What _is_ that?"

"A bridge connecting one world to the next."

Sora and Neku spun around to see none other than Joshua approaching them. Both of them gave him a deadly scowl, but said nothing. _I want to hit him so hard…_

_**I'm pretty sure Neku does too, Sora, but he's the Composer. Don't do anything stupid.**_

_Little snot…_

_**Excuse me?**_

_Not you. Him._

"Fancy meeting you here, Joshua," Neku grumbled. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Hanekoma run his shop or whatever, since he doesn't seem to be interested anymore?"

"Oh, he still loves that old shop," Joshua corrected him. "He's just…been busy, as of late, what with the heartless running around." He changed tone immediately. "_That_ is a bridge that was erected by a few Reaper GMs in Neku's last game. They thought they'd be able to take over the position of Composer, especially Minamimoto."

Sora gawked. "Pi-face wanted to take over the game?"

Joshua nodded, sighing. "But he didn't, in the end. I thought I had disposed of him, to be honest, but it turns out that I didn't…not properly, anyway."

"What happened to him?" Neku asked. "I know you didn't manage to erase him, since he's been running around a bit."

The light-haired boy took on a _very_ serious expression, his tone darkening. "I'm really not sure. All I know is that he made it back somehow, and he's much more powerful and dangerous. I don't want him becoming composer; who knows what will happen to the RG if he does."

Sora felt a prickle go up his spine. "I wouldn't want that guy in charge of _anything_," he said. "If he's the one pulling the strings behind the heartless, then we've got to stop him."

"My thoughts exactly," Joshua replied, drawing a cell phone out of his pocket. "And Minamimoto's probably got a whole army of heartless waiting for you. Think you're up for it?"

"That's what I'm here for," Sora said, grinning and resting the keyblade on his shoulder. "How 'bout you, Neku?"

Neku stared at Sora. "You're awfully calm about all this," he commented. "I'm not sure if I'm ready for something like this, but if you ask me, it's now or never. Think we can handle them?"

Joshua grinned again. "Oh, you aren't the only ones fighting. I called in some backup."

Sora exchanged a glance with Neku. "Backup?" he echoed. "What kind of backup?"

"Reliable, _familiar_ backup," Joshua replied. "I'm sure you'll find them suitable."

_Why do I get the feeling that Leon and Yuffie are involved?_

_**Don't jinx it, Sora.**_

"Come," Joshua began, jolting Sora from his thoughts. "There's someone you need to meet at Dead God's Pad."

"Dead God's Pad…?" Sora echoed. Neku shook his head at him and followed the composer across the bridge. It didn't look sturdy, but it sure felt that way. He began to wonder what it was made of, but decided that such a thought was best left alone.

They were nearing a large turn in the tunnel when Sora stopped suddenly in his tracks, a familiar feeling prickling up his spine. "Guys, wait."

Both Joshua and Neku paused, glancing at Sora as he looked around. "Something wrong?" Neku asked.

"Entirely," Sora replied. The keyblade began to pulse in his grip. Something was wrong, he could _feel_ it. The problem was, he didn't _see_ anything suspicious. "Don't you guys feel something out of the ordinary?"

Joshua furrowed his eyebrows. "The Shibuya River isn't like Shibuya: it's voiceless. Maybe you're too used to the UG."

Neku shook his head. "Joshua, I think he means something else. I feel it, too."

Sora gripped the keyblade tightly in his hand, his eyes wary. It wasn't long before the sound of footsteps reached him. Eyes narrowed, he spun around, swinging the keyblade just in time to see the remains of a heartless vanishing and a heart floating away and vanishing. "Heartless," he growled.

On cue, more heartless appeared out of dark portals. Neku took a battle-ready stance, and Joshua held his phone out protectively. More and more portals appeared, and out of them came more heartless. Sora didn't like the way things were looking; there had to be thousands of them. Most of them were Neoshadows, others were odd assortments of heartless he found in other places.

"Think we can take on this many?" Neku asked.

"Only one way to find out," Sora replied, feeling the keyblade pulse with power. He felt himself rise in the air and grinned. _Let's get this party started!_

With a loud _whoosh_, Sora tore through the air and into the crowd of heartless before rising again, slaying at least two dozen in one fell swoop. Neku was already on the case; numerous trails of flame were spiraling far into the enemy horde. Joshua, meanwhile, took to dropping vending machines and cars on some while he snapped photos of others (how he had a cell phone with such a powerful flash function, Sora would probably never know). But no matter how hard they tried, more heartless seemed to be coming. It wasn't long until Sora saw the tunnel being filled from end to end with the vile beasts.

He was just about to dodge a blow from a neoshadow heartless when he found that his opposition had been…slammed into by a skateboard? Sora did a double-take when he saw the person riding on the board smash into another heartless and spin on him. "You two threw a party and didn't invite me? That's low, yo!"

"Perfect timing there, Beat!" Neku cried as he slammed another heartless, this time with lightning bolts. With a quick salute, Beat did a quick heel-flip and charged into the horde with a loud, whooping cry, sending several Armored Knights flying.

_**Now do you see why I like riding on them so much?**_

_Yeah, no kidding._

Another group of heartless fell victim to an animated stuffed animal that Sora found quite familiar. Behind its movements was none other than Shiki, whom waved cheerfully to Sora. "You okay over there?" she called.

"Doing fine!" Sora replied as he batted away a smaller shadow.

Another trail of flame – this one blue – cut Sora off from heading forward, but in turn the heartless that were charging for him were consumed by it. He was about to thank Neku when he saw Rhyme waving sheepishly at him. "Be careful!" she cried.

Sora nodded. "You too!" With that, he jumped into the fray again.

It was a flurry, with the whirring sound of darkness dissipating resounding in the tunnel. Hearts were flying left and right, and Sora swung the keyblade at so many of them his movements almost became automatic, and he nearly couldn't stop. Before long, the crowd began to thin, but now there were tougher heartless left to fight.

The keyblade master found himself face-to-face with a Living Bone, one of those annoying heartless he had first faced in the Pride Lands. It was awkward fighting them on two feet rather than four paws, but Sora could make due with what he had. He always did. He began to lunge, but the heartless moved first, hurling him backward and sending him skidding into the ground. The keyblade flew out of his grip, but he couldn't recall it in time for the beast-like heartless to approach…only for it to be knocked back by an absurdly large shuriken, and then subsequently disposed of by a rather sizable fireball.

There was a strong reminder of the Battle for Hollow Bastion in his mind, and Sora turned to see none other than Leon and Yuffie at his back. "You guys!"

"Save the greetings for later," Leon demanded, swinging the gunblade at a small crowd of Armored Knights that thought it would be wise to gang up on him. They were proven wrong the moment they tasted steel.

Yuffie jumped into the air and used a Large Body's head as a stepping stone as she jumped even higher, hurling her shuriken into the crowd and demolishing several heartless. With a victorious cry, she landed on her stepping stone, causing him to stumble long enough for Joshua to hurl a piece of stray fencing into its back. A few shadows headed for Rhyme, but a barrier of flame surrounded her and sent them flying across the area.

Sora jumped back after smiting a few shadows, finding himself right next to Neku. "You doing okay, Neku?" he asked, keyblade still at ready.

"I could use a bit more firepower," Neku replied, grinning. "I've got my Fusion Pin ready."

"Then what're we waiting for?"

Sora pointed the keyblade straight into the air while Neku erected a dome-shaped barrier of white flame around them. Any heartless that was foolish enough to approach was incinerated immediately. A light gathered at the keyblade's tip, and the divine inferno quickly spread outward, consuming countless heartless in its path. A loud whirring was heard as every single heart that was released floated away, and the beasts that managed to escape were blinded and vaporized by the proceeding flash of light that came from the keyblade.

When it was finally dim enough to see again, everyone stared in awe at where the heartless had once been. Not a single one remained. After a brief silence, Sora suddenly realized that his energy was drained, and he fell to his knees, stabbing the ground with the keyblade for some support. Neku was similarly exhausted, and fell into an odd sitting position.

"You okay, Phones?" Sora heard Beat say as he walked up to Neku and put a hand on his shoulder.

Neku nodded. "Yeah…that took a lot out of me. I'm beat."

"No way, man!" Beat replied, miffed. "_I'm_ Beat, yo!"

"He means to say that he's tired," Rhyme said.

Sora didn't have to look up to know that Yuffie was kneeling next to him. "Don't ever do that again," she scolded him. "Honestly, Sora, you make everyone at the HBRC worry about you when you pull stunts like this."

"I'll live."

"That's not the point," came Leon's deep, commanding voice. "Sora, one of these days if you're not careful, you're going to get yourself killed."

Sora looked up long enough to glare at the gunblade-wielding warrior. "Leon…I _am_ dead."

Leon winced noticeably and looked away, a strangely apologetic look on his face. Yuffie sighed and shook her head. "He's been taking it the hardest," she explained. Sora only nodded in reply, still tired.

"We didn't see anyone else on our way in," Shiki began, hoping to break the ice. "If Minamimoto is here, he's either been waiting for us for a week or he probably made it in while we were fighting."

"Speaking of fighting," Neku began, "How come you guys can use your psyches? You're not exactly players, you know."

"The Shibuya River is one of the many places where the UG and RG overlap," Joshua reminded them with a trademark grin. "I will admit that it took some fine-tuning to get their psyches back up and running, though. Luckily, Sora and his pals didn't need any of that."

"You mean you can shoot fireballs without needing a psyche?" Rhyme asked Leon. "Cool!"

"What about Sora?" Beat asked. "Is that key thing his psyche?"

"No," Sora replied. "Long story short, the keyblade isn't really a psyche like you guys have. It works outside the UG, but hopefully I won't need it there after today. If we don't stop Pi-Face, then those monsters will go to the RG…and I don't want to think about what'll happen if they make it."

"I don't either," Neku replied. "I don't think I can deal with anything even close to the silence that took over Shibuya in week three. It was so quiet my ears were starting to hurt. If the heartless take over…" He shook his head and looked away.

Sora nodded to him, knowing that Neku had not had the misfortune of seeing what happened when someone fought a heartless and lost. Sora himself had seen what it was like not long after he had awoken in Traverse Town two years previous. It wasn't a pretty sight, and it didn't give him the best first impression of the town, either (Aside from Cid, whom had been rather gruff but offered to help him).

Joshua, meanwhile, had a serious look on his face again. "Dead God's Pad is up ahead," he said. "Let's go."

"Is the GM there?" Neku asked.

"Hopefully," Joshua replied as he started forward, "Unless Minamimoto got to him first."

* * *

Yeah. GM didn't show up QUITE yet. XD But he will! Chapter 16 coming soon!


	16. Make Or Break

Holy crap. I wasn't expecting to release chapter 16 so soon, but the final battle was stuck in my head. Here's the next chapter, you guys! Sorry if it's a bit sloppy.

I made a reference to "Another Day" here XD Couldn't resist! There's also a Neku/Shiki moment in this chapter, just so you know. And violence, including blood. Yay blood.

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Sixteen: Make Or Break**

* * *

Neku wasn't at all pleased with Joshua's decision to come with them, mostly because he hated his guts, but he remembered that Minamomoto had once been disposed of by Joshua…just not correctly. Maybe that silver-haired snot-nosed brat of a composer was trying to finish what he started. Dragging the others into it was questionable, but he was thankful for it considering there was a crowd of heartless waiting for them. The heartless, though more vicious and dangerous since they didn't have their own 'zone,' were much easier to take down than noise. Neku didn't want to think about what would happen if he had to face that many noise at once with only him and Sora…or anyone else for that matter.

By the time the group reached the end of the sewer, they came upon a large, closed door. Joshua put his hands in his pockets and looked at it closely. "Well, he should be in there unless our little friend decided to crash the party."

Beat was the first to walk forward. He grabbed the handle and turned it, gritting his teeth when it didn't budge. "It's locked. Anyone got a key?"

"I do," Sora replied.

"He means the key to the door," Shiki corrected him.

But Sora stepped forward anyway. "I'm serious. I can unlock it."

Rhyme looked at Sora doubtfully. "Isn't your key a bit too big for that door?"

"Nah," Sora said, grinning. "Stand back, I'll show you."

They did. With a deep breath, Sora pointed the keyblade forward, light gathering at the tip and shooting forward in a similar fashion to when he had unlocked the wall farther down the sewer. There was a flash as it struck the doorknob, and a familiar clicking was heard.

Beat stood with his jaw wide open. It took him a few moments before he could say anything. "Best. Psyche. Ever."

"Remind me to call you up next time I lock myself out of my apartment," Shiki joked, smiling.

Sora grinned and chuckled at their comments, letting the keyblade fall to his side again. "Come on. We've got a world to save."

"Again," Neku added, but he meant it in good humor. Tentatively, he pulled open the door and gazed inside.

While Neku and his friends knew what to expect, Sora and his own companions certainly didn't. Yuffie's eyes bluged from her head. "Geez! It's like Chez Sewer's Bar and Lounge down here! What's a place like this doing in a sewer?"

"This is Dead God's Pad," Joshua said, looking at it with a stern expression. "Looks like the GM managed to escape before our friend Minamimoto arrived and wreaked havoc."

Neku could see what he was referring to. The couches that were in the room were torn and shredded with various claw marks, a few nearby game tables were snapped cleanly in half, and the jukebox was smashed to smithereens. All in all, the place was an absolute mess.

"No sign of Pi-Face," Beat observed darkly, his voice unnaturally quiet.

"I bet he's up ahead," Sora said, eyes narrowed. "But how are we supposed to go farther? I don't exactly see any other doors."

Joshua crossed his arms. "This is the part where it gets hard," he said. "There _is_ a door in here. The only problem is that only scanning can reveal it, thus only players can go through…normally."

"Normally?" Leon echoed, his voice full of suspicion.

"There are other ways through," Joshua continued, "But none are easy for people whom aren't reapers or anything similar. I doubt Minamimoto will let us waltz in so casually if he's already here, either."

"So we have to go alone?" Sora asked, feeling discouraged.

Joshua nodded. "I'm afraid so. The rest of us will be holding down the fort in case any noise or heartless decide to eat you for dinner."

Sora groaned. "That's not very reassuring."

"He's right though," Neku began. "The Grim Heaper didn't mind sending a bunch of taboo noise after me and whatever partner I had in weeks two and three. He'll probably want to send Heartless after you guys, too."

"Then we'll hold the fort here, yo!" Beat said, thrusting an enthusiastic fist into the air. "Go show Pi-Face who's really in charge of Shibuya!"

Neku smiled and was about to turn away when he felt something bump into him and bind him on the spot. There was an eerie stillness before he managed to look down and recognize that Shiki had thrown herself on him, wrapping him in a tight hug. He was stunned for a moment before Shiki spoke, her voice barely audible as she buried her face in his chest. "Come back _safe _this time, okay Neku?" she asked.

Everyone stared in silence as Neku tried to figure out what to do. He had never had to deal with this, mainly because he drove off anyone that really needed a hug. He looked closer and saw that Shiki was... _Is she crying?_ he thought. He always knew the seamstress considered him a friend, but never _this_ close. He had never had anyone so worried about him before.

Finally, after a few thoughts, Neku's gaze softened and he wrapped his own arms around the girl, holding her tightly. "I will," he replied in a near-whisper. "I promise."

After a few moments, the two pulled away, and Shiki wiped a few tears from her eyes, smiling. "Good luck, both of you."

Sora gave her a mock salute and a goofy grin. "You can count on us," he said, turning to his partner. "Ready, Neku?"

Neku nodded. "Ready."

Nodding, Sora pulled out his player pin and closed his eyes, initiating a scan. Moments later, the area around them both began to flicker, and it eventually faded, revealing another sector of the sewer. This one was a bit brighter, the walls covered in familiar graffiti. Neku gave an inward sigh; it was CAT's work. He often wondered what it was doing there, but never got any answers.

"Whoa," Sora exclaimed quietly, his voice echoing. "Where is this?"

"The rest of the Shibuya River," Neku replied. "I'm guessing you found the door without a problem?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I scanned and didn't really find anything but this mental image of a door. I tried to pull it up more like when I read people's thoughts and…well…something kinda jerked me forward and then we were here."

Neku narrowed his eyes and focused carefully. "Minamimoto is probably around here somewhere…him or the GM."

"Then let's end this," Sora said, his voice low and serious. "Lead the way, Neku."

The proxy nodded and began forward, Sora following. Their footsteps echoed quietly down the tunnel. The rushing sound of the water was long gone, and only they were there to make any sounds. Not even the music of Shibuya could reach this far, though the fact that it couldn't reach the river at all wasn't much help. The echoing silence was almost sickening to Neku, and he finally had to stop when they were half-way through, hugging himself and shuddering. His face contorted into unease as he slowly sat on his knees to steady himself. _Even after so long, I still can't stand this place._

Sora quickly noticed this and placed a hand on Neku's shoulder. "You okay?"

"No," Neku replied. "I won't be until we leave this place. It's messing with my head and I'm starting to feel sick."

There was an odd expression on Sora's face and he looked downward, closing his eyes muttering a few words that Neku couldn't make out. There was a warm, green light from the keyblade that shone very briefly that passed over Neku, and he felt a warmth curling around him and calming his senses. The nausea in his mind began to wane, and while it didn't go away, it was now on a far more manageable level. Sora knelt down to Neku's eye level. "That help any?"

Neku nodded. "A little," he replied. "What'd you do?"

Sora only smiled vaguely. "The keyblade is capable of more than just unlocking stuff. I really don't know everything about it, even after two years, but it can help heal people as far as I know, even if they aren't in physical pain."

The statement erected a small grin from Neku. "Thanks," he muttered, standing.

"Don't mention it," Sora said, once again resting the keyblade on his shoulder. "Come on."

Taking a deep breath, Neku started forward with a renewed determination. When they finally arrived at the door at the end of the tunnel, he bit his lip. "This is it, Sora. Be ready for anything."

"Yeah," Sora said, holding the keyblade at ready.

Neku reached toward the handle and turned it, shoving the door open. Waiting on the other side was a familiar place: an enormous room that would have put an Olympic stadium to shame. Three noise-like designs ran through the center of the room, snaking up the walls where a large pillar decorated with a serpentine design stood. The roof was so high it couldn't be seen. Sora gawked at the sight, but Neku had seen it before and was considerably less shocked. "Welcome to the room of reckoning," he said, "The throne of the Composer and the place where the fabric of Shibuya is woven."

"Took your time didn't you, stupid zeros?"

The voice instantly set Sora and Neku on edge. Sora took a battle stance, the keyblade ready in his grip, while Neku's hand began to glow. "This ends now, Pi-Face!" he shouted.

Minamimoto grinned. "So zetta slow. The GM isn't _anywhere _in the River. He probably saw me coming."

"So you haven't found him yet?" Sora asked. Neku hoped it would stay that way.

"Of course not," Minamimoto growled. "He would have made a great heartless, you know…but your stupid key keeps getting in the way!" He lunged, sending a red-hot laser Sora's way. The keyblade master batted it away and held his ground while Minamimoto continued. "And to make matters worse, I can't find the keyhole to this place."

"What do you want with the keyhole?" Neku demanded.

Minamimoto laughed. "You zetta morons! Whoever controls whatever's in that keyhole will have ultimate power! With that I can subtract the composer from this equation and I'll finally be the one in charge!"

Neku would have laughed if Shibuya's fate wasn't at stake…again. "You're still going after that crazy goal of yours?" he growled. "I hate to disappoint you, but we're not about to let you become in charge of anything."

"We're putting a stop to you right here and right now," Sora added. "Any last words, Minamimoto?"

The former reaper laughed. "_You _should be the one praying!" he cried as he shot one hand forward, a sphere of black flame erupting from it. It slammed into Sora's stomach and caused him to stumble back as he screamed in both pain and surprise.

Deciding that the fight had begun, Neku sent a flurry of glowing projectiles toward Minamimoto, whom dodged every last one save for the final bolt that skinned his shoulder and burned the fabric of his jacket. While Minamimoto was cringing, Sora had raced forward and aimed a blow at his side with the keyblade. It hit its mark, and the reaper bellowed in anger, retaliating by slashing across Sora's face with claws that appeared from nowhere. The keyblade master screamed, falling back as the claw marks stretched across his face and drew blood. His momentary paralysis was enough time for Minamimoto to hurl him aside and race for Neku, whom was readying a trail of flames. He wasn't prepared for the hit.

* * *

Rhyme, whom had taken a seat on the floor, stared absently at her feet. She didn't remember this place very clearly, but it was familiar enough to her. The fish swarmed near the small group that had formed, and she tapped her shoe against the glass, watching as the fish scattered for a moment only to re-gather around her. Behind her, Beat was sitting on the couch, caught in a rare moment of calm while trying to comfort a worried Shiki. Joshua stood staring at the ruined jukebox, probably contemplating whether or not he could fix it. The two strangers, Yuffie and Leon, were on the remains of other couch, sitting in silence and staring at other interesting aspects of the room.

"He'll be fine, Shiki," Beat said for about the umpteenth time. "He's been up against the Conductor before, yo."

Shiki shook her head and hugged her stuffed cat, Mr. Mew, closer. "I just can't stand being here and not knowing how he is. He could be erased and I'm still here and I can't do anything…"

"Neku is a very strong player," Joshua said, finally breaking his own silence. "I had him hand-picked, after all."

Rhyme finally looked up from the floor. "Hand-picked?" she asked.

Joshua nodded. "The only normal way for a player to enter the UG is to die, so I had to find someone right for the job as my proxy. A friend of mine is known for his influential graffiti, and he painted a mural for me in Udagawa imprinting it with two messages: 'Enjoy the moment more' and 'Gather.' Anyone with a strong imagination – which is used to perform psyches – would be drawn to it. Neku was the one that showed up there when I was looking for a proxy, so I sent him to the UG as my proxy."

"You mean you killed him," Leon said, eyes narrowed to slits.

"I did," Joshua replied, "And promptly brought him back when my little game was over. But I'm not the one who killed him the second time. That was a fortunate accident on my part. I did, however, have to exercise my method on your friend Sora."

"_You_!" Yuffie yelled in rage, jumping to her feet and readying a shuriken. "_You're_ the one that killed him!"

Joshua only chuckled at her reaction. "Yes, I supposed I did."

"You jerk! Don't you realize what you did? Because of you, the heartless will-"

"Stop, Yuffie," Leon said suddenly. "Don't you remember who was in the room with us five minutes ago?"

The ninja paused, thinking. "Neku and Sora…"

"Exactly," Joshua said. "Killing them was the only way to bring them to the UG, but you still met them. The UG and RG overlap here, just like in the shops. Death is handled _very_ differently here in Shibuya, young lady. As such, I _have_ promised to bring Neku and Sora back when this mess is dealt with. For saving Shibuya from total demise, it's the least I can do."

"You can do that?" Yuffie asked, aghast but still miffed at the boy.

"Well, he _is_ the composer."

A voice reached them from the front door of Dead God's Pad. The reaction was immediate. A smile lit up on Shiki's face, while Beat's jaw dropped. Leon and Yuffie jumped a bit, and Rhyme stared in awe at the person that had arrived. Joshua, however, just smiled and chuckled like he always did. "Looks like our GM is safe and sound," he said. "Well, would you mind filling us in on what's going on outside?"

"Everything's fine in the RG so far. As for Minamimoto, I've got some news that you may or may not like…"

* * *

Sora clutched his face, the pain causing the skin to throb as blood stung his eyes. Minamimoto hadn't gotten him on the cheek, he had gotten his _entire_ face with the claw-like slash. Three ribbons of red crossed his eyes, nose and cheeks, and he didn't have time to throw in a cure spell. He looked up in time to see Minamimoto rushing toward Neku and hit a bolt of ice at his back, but the math-obsessed reaper still managed to land a blow to Neku's ribs.

Even as his vision ran partially red, Sora ran forward, eyebrows furrowed, and made a slash at Minamimoto's back, landing right on the mark and causing the reaper to spin around and make another slash at him, only for Sora to quickly parry the blow with the keyblade and leap back.

"Zetta sons of digits," Minamimoto growled.

"Thought you could beat us?" Sora taunted.

In response to Sora's comment, Minamimoto only laughed. "Fine, then. But you forgot one major detail in my equation, yoctograms!" With that, his form began to slowly warp into a large, bi-pedal lion-like beast with sharp, wickedly curved claws, horns, and a tattoo-like tail and set of legs. His laughing attained an abnormal echoing quality, and a dark mist rose from his body.

"What's going on?!" Sora cried.

Neku sneered. "I didn't know he was still capable," he said. "That's his noise form, Leo Cantus!"

Sora didn't need Neku to tell him that a noise form was more powerful. He held the keyblade in a cautious defensive stance, ready to block anything that came his way. He was quickly proven outmatched when Leo Cantus raced at him with blinding speed and sent him flying through the air and crashing into the wall, causing chunks of cement to fly out upon impact. Dizzy, Sora fell to the ground, coughing and hacking violently. He felt a bit of blood seep out of his mouth as he gasped for breath.

Satisfied at the damage, Leo Cantus headed for Neku, whom wasn't any more prepared than Sora was. A barrier of flame appeared just in time to ward off the noise's assault, but he shattered it like glass and gave Neku three new crimson marks across his abdomen. The blood-curdling shriek that the proxy let loose at the pain caused Sora to wince. _He's too powerful…_

_**Don't give up, Sora! You **_**can't**_** give up!**_

Pushing himself upright and failing, Sora instead lifted his eyes and helplessly watched Neku's suffering. _Roxas, I don't know if I can keep going. Leo Cantus…he's insanely strong. I don't think Xemnas was as tough as him._

_**Come on. You've toppled Organization XIII! You can do this!**_

Sora nodded, pushing himself to his feet, this time focusing on the situation at hand. Leo Cantus was quick and powerful, but Sora knew better than anyone that such power always had a weakness. If he could surprise the enemy and keep him off guard for long enough, he might be able to defeat him swiftly. The question was…how? He knew that he was up against a keyblade master and a proxy, so he knew their strategies…

An idea lit up in his mind. Wheeling back his arm, he hurled the keyblade across the room. "Neku! Catch!"

The proxy's head snapped up and he caught the keyblade in his hand. Leo Cantus began aiming another blow when he found it blocked by the keyblade's shaft. Stumbling back in surprise, Neku leapt forward, his psychic power traveling down the blade as he leapt up and sliced Leo Cantus across the front. Sora joined the fray again, channeling a thundaga spell through his hand. It was harder without using the keyblade as a medium and it took much more out of him, but it landed more powerfully than usual, and Leo Cantus collapsed to the ground, his form evaporating and leaving a kneeling Minamimoto in his place.

"Had enough?" Sora snarled.

Minamimoto smirked and began to stand, only to stumble. "Heh…an inverse matrix…but don't think this is over…"

Neku wouldn't have it. Gripping the keyblade, he ran forward and stabbed through the reaper, allowing the blade to rip through the other side of his body. After letting it stay there for a few seconds, he ripped it out, and the man fell on the ground, motionless.

It was only after a few moments that Neku realized that the keyblade was in his hand. His eyes widened and he nearly dropped the weapon. "What…when…"

Sora grinned, wiping the blood from his chin. "Kinda interesting how adrenalin makes you improvise on the spot without really knowing what's going on."

If Neku heard him, he hid it well. He was still staring at the weapon in awe, holding it in both hands. "This is…different," he began. "It's kind of like having a psyche active all the time, only it doesn't drain you…it kinda does the opposite."

"That's how I felt, too," Sora replied, remembering when the keyblade had come to him before his islands were destroyed. "I didn't have much time to marvel at it though…I was attacked by heartless a few seconds later."

Neku paused in silence, apparently contemplating the subject before handing the keyblade back over to Sora. "Here," he said simply, looking nervous. Sora smiled, accepting his weapon back, and glancing at the dead form of Minamimoto lying on the ground before him.

What they _didn't_ expect was for a large, glimmering heart to float out of the fading remains of the math-obsessed reaper's body as he vanished in a black mist.

"What the…" Neku exclaimed, gawking. "He was a _heartless_?"

Sora's eyes narrowed. "I don't like this. If he was a heartless, then that means-"

The sound of someone clapping their hands echoed about the concrete walls as a black, cloaked figure approached. "Good show, good show. I was beginning to wonder if you'd make it."

"…he has a nobody," Sora finished, gritting his teeth. As much as he hated to admit it, this battle was far from over.

* * *

You thought it was over, didn't ya? XD Nope, there's still more final boss to come! Are you ready for it?


	17. Twister

I'm pretty sure some of you are wondering about the keyblade incident last chapter. THERE IS NO NEED TO PANIC. Or go crazy. XD Don't worry, it was planned. I'll explain it in this chapter.

There was going to be another chapter after this one, but I decided to just squish it into one…so this is the last chapter. Off we go!

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Chapter Seventeen: Twister**

* * *

Neku didn't know which was worse: the fact that he and Sora were about to bleed to death if they kept this up, or the fact that there were _two_ Minamimotos. The heartless Minamimoto, though now gone, had already taken plenty out of them, and the proxy wasn't sure he could handle the Nobody. Next to him, Sora was barely standing, having been slashed across the face and then slammed into the wall. Neku could still see the crater where Sora had been thrown.

"I have to admit," the Nobody began, "You two had me worried there. I didn't even know ol' Sho could still use his noise form. Looks like you managed to pull through anyway. Quite the entertainment for ol' Xsoh here."

"What do you want?" Sora demanded.

Sho's Nobody sneered. "Still pulling that, Sora? I thought you got rid of Organization XIII."

Sora narrowed his eyes, blood dripping past one of them. "I did," he said, "But it looks like I still missed a few no-gooders like you."

"Figures," Xsoh replied. "You see, I'm not after Kingdom Hearts. I'm fine without my heart, otherwise I woulda just taken it back by force. To tell you the truth, I never really did like how this game was run. I'm still after the composer spot 'n all, but don't you think this game would be more exciting if a Nobody was running it? You wouldn't have _emotional_ issues getting in your way of making decisions, like that stupid no-good composer let happen."

Neku blinked. "Compo…ser?" He echoed. "What does Joshua have to do with this?"

Xsoh rolled his eyes. "What, haven't you ever wondered what happened after you lost that duel with him, and still ended up alive? That brat let his _heart_ get in the way of what he wanted for Shibuya, and decided to let you go even though you won." The man spat out the word 'heart' like it was poison. "But Nobodies, as you probably already know, don't _have_ hearts. We won't have _obstacles_ like that."

"Forget about it," Sora growled. "You're a nobody. You shouldn't exist. And when I'm done with you, you _won't_."

The nobody laughed. "Heh. I'd like to see you try." There was a quick movement and a series of thorns stretched forward at lightning-fast speed. Sora was gone in a blur, swiveling around them and racing for the Nobody. Neku slashed the air with his hand and caused a chain of barbed wire to fling itself out of the wall and stab past Xsoh. It missed by inches, and Xsoh disposed of it with a quick slash of his hand. Sora sent a blow to the man's ribs, which landed right on the mark. Xsoh bellowed in pain and kicked Sora backward, causing the keybearer to cough rather than cry out in pain. A bit of blood seeped out of the boy's mouth, but he didn't remain still long enough to notice it and rushed right back into the fray.

The keyblade master's decision proved to be a mistake when he received a blow to the side of his skull thanks to a set of claws, tearing open some of his flesh. He ignored the pain that screamed to him and raced forward again, stabbing the keyblade into Xsoh's side. Leaping back, he made way for Neku to send a barrage of projectiles at the enemy, pushing the nobody back. To their surprise, however, Xsoh came out unharmed.

"It'll take more than that to erase me," he snarled, lifting his hand up and summoning a large sphere of pale, empty energy and hurling it at Sora. The key bearer was hurled backward, skidding across the pavement and earning a few scrapes and scratches on his arms and legs.

Xsoh sent more thorns toward Sora, whom lay helpless on the ground as he was just beginning to stand. Neku's eyes widened and the attack neared, and the threw himself in front of Sora just as the blow would have landed, taking the hit himself and being pinned against the concrete wall. The thorns held him there until Sora managed to regain his footing and slice them away, freeing Neku from their hold.

_He can't keep going like this,_ Neku told himself as he readied another psyche. _He's taken more of a beating than I have. What's keeping him running?_

"You haven't given up yet?" Xsoh said, laughing. "You know, one of these days that persistence of yours is going to cost you more than your life."

Sora looked up, eyes barely remaining open. "I'm not backing down," he replied. "Ever. I made a promise."

_A promise…?_

Xsoh laughed. "Yeah, right. How's something like that ganna keep you going?"

Wincing as he did it, Sora pulled out a small, star-shaped charm sewn out of seashells. "Kairi gave this to me," he said, not bothering to explain who Kairi was. "She made me promise to bring it back to her. I'm not giving up, and I'll keep fighting until I can give this back to her."

_That alone can keep him going for two years?_ Neku observed. _I guess we all have something that keeps us going…for me, it's Shiki…and for Beat, it's Rhyme…for Sora, it's that promise._

"I'll help you out then," Xsoh said. "I'll help you give it to her…after I _erase_ you!" He sent forth another stream of thorns, slamming Sora into the ground again. The keyblade master grunted, lifting the keyblade to attack, but found himself unable to move. Neku spun on the spot, using his flames to free Sora from the hold, only for the thorns to rebound and lash him like a whip, giving him a long red mark across his back and sending him tumbling to the ground next to his partner.

Sora lifted his arm, aiming the keyblade at Xsoh, but his hand kept falling. Neku winced; the boy could barely move. Gathering his courage, Neku grabbed Sora's hand and helped him lift it upward, nodding in understanding. Sora nodded very slightly, and turned his gaze to Xsoh, where the keyblade was aimed. A light gathered at the tip of the keyblade, and Neku felt some of his strength draining in a similar way to when he used a very powerful psyche. The light exploded from the tip of the weapon, shooting forward and impaling Xsoh for a brief moment before fading.

Xsoh gasped for breath and stumbled, clutching his side. "You don't know when to quit, do you?" he commented. "Even when you're down to your last breath, you still fight."

"We have something to fight for," Neku replied, standing. "And we're going to defend it with all we've got."

Sora nodded, staggering to his feet. "Neku's right," he said. "And this world may not be mine, but I still have every right to fight for it…and that's just what I'll do. You're time's up, Xsoh."

The nobody laughed, standing upright again and sending a barrage of attacks toward them. Sora weakly held up the keyblade, managing to block them, but Neku had to jump about to avoid them. Even then, they were fast, and he was nicked on the back of his calf by one strand. Screaming, he landed and stumbled, but Neku quickly shook it off and ran back into the fray. He leapt into the air with a cry, preparing to close in with a barrage of wind blades when he found himself thrown back as though he had hit a wall. When he looked back up, he noticed that Xsoh had wrapped himself in a shield composed of his thorns. Neku shook himself out of his daze and gritted his teeth. _If we keep going like this we won't last long…there has to be a way to finish him fast, but I don't have any pins for that sort of thing…_

Pins…pins… The idea slowly came to him, and his eyes widened. "Sora! Your blank pin! Use it!"

The keyblade master's head snapped up. "But I don't know what it-"

"It's our only chance at this point!" Neku protested.

Sora nodded, shoving off some thorns that were attacking him and pulling the pin out of his pocket. It was pulsing with light, its psyche activating. As they watched, it rose into the air, the glow becoming brighter, and Neku heard a small, familiar, and _very _welcome sound reach his ears.

Drums. An electric guitar. Bass. A keyboard. Someone singing. The music of Shibuya had reached them.

At first, Neku wondered what good it would do, especially in the river where it had never gone to before. Xsoh laughed at them. "You think bringing the music here is going to _help_ you two?" he said. "You should have known better. Wherever there's music, there's always a bit of _static_ that can block it out."

The color drained from Sora's face, and Neku felt his own skin pale. "No…you're not-"

"Heh, heh, heh…that's right!" Xsoh lifted his hands into the air. "Come on out, noise!"

"NO!"

In a flash of scrambled light, several noise appeared between the players and Xsoh. Neku could make out several wolves, an elephant, a number of kangaroos and minks and a large number of frogs as well. Both partners scowled; noise were harder to take down than heartless, and though the number there didn't exactly count as a crowd, at the rate they were going they wouldn't last. They had used something they thought would help, only to hand victory to their enemy. _This can't be the end…it can't…Shiki, I'm sorry…_

But to their surprise, the noise turned around to face Xsoh instead. The nobody's eyes widened. "Wha…did you hear me or not? Erase them!"

"I don't think they care what you want," Sora replied, his voice hoarse. "You wanted to replace the noise in the UG with heartless and nobodies, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but everything has a survival instinct. I'm pretty sure the noise are no different."

While Xsoh stood in shock, Neku stood, realizing where Sora was going. "We've been overrun with Heartless this week," he added. "The noise have been a bit deprived of their dinner lately. I'm pretty sure they'll go for just about anything at this rate."

The noise advanced an Xsoh, whom stepped back fearfully and shielded himself with his arms. "No! No, you can't do this! I'm the one that called you! You can't do this to me!"

But his cries went unheard as every single creature pounced on him at once. After a blood-curdling cry from Xsoh, there was a pale flash of light and both the noise and the nobody were gone.

The music faded away once more, as did the light from the pin floating in the air. It fell to the ground, shattering like glass. With the adrenalin rush ceasing, Neku and Sora fell to their knees, gasping for breath. "It's over now," Sora said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Shibuya…should be safe."

Neku gritted his teeth. "It better be," he replied. "But do you think we can make it back?"

Sora didn't answer. Instead, he gripped the keyblade, coughing as blood dribbled down his chin, then muttered a few words below his breath. Neku felt the curative abilities of the keyblade wrap around him, and though they didn't help repair all the damage, the pain and bleeding lessened. He shook his head. "Sora, _you_ need the help more than me. You're the only one that can seal the keyhole. Heal _yourself_."

"We're partners…aren't we?" Sora protested with a weak smile. "Looking after each other is…what we do…right…?" Then his eyes closed, and he collapsed to the ground with a soft _thud_.

Neku narrowed his eyes, for a moment worried that Sora was being erased, but he noted that the boy was still breathing hoarsely. _He's exhausted,_ the proxy decided. _Lost so much blood… _Biting his lip, he picked up Sora's arm and wrapped it over his shoulder, dragging the boy up and beginning to limp out of the Room of Reckoning. The boy was surprisingly lightweight, and even in unconsciousness he still gripped the keyblade. He ignored the blood stains he was getting on his clothes; more important things were at stake now.

It took longer than it probably should have for Neku to make it all the way back to Dead God's Pad. With every step, Sora seemed to grow heavier and more limp, so Neku had to re-adjust the boy's arm several times. The music that had been summoned remained, but played very, very faintly in comparison to when he heard it in the scramble. It was better than silence, he reasoned, and it didn't make him feel ill.

While walking down the tunnels, Neku spared a glance at Sora. When he was unconscious, there was a strange element of peace to him. In spite of this, signs of his battle with Minamimoto and Xsoh showed: there was blood on his chin, running down the side of his head and a bit more on his arms. His clothes were torn in a few places, though not quite as torn up as Neku's. The music-loving proxy scowled. _This is my favorite shirt, too._

Noticing the end of the tunnel, Neku heaved Sora onto his shoulder a bit more and stepped forward. A soft light enveloped him as he re-entered Dead God's Pad. There, he found everyone silently waiting, including a newcomer.

Neku blinked. "…Mister Hanekoma? What're you doing here?"

All heads snapped up at once. Many eyes widened, a few jaws gawked (Joshua looked concerned but was otherwise his normal, hard-to-read self), Rhyme winced and backed away, Yuffie gasped and Shiki screamed. "Neku! What happened?!"

"We lived," Neku replied. "Somehow. We both took a big beating, and Sora used up the last of his energy to make sure I got here in one piece. Didn't think twice about his own condition; he's a bit worse off…"

Yuffie hurried over to their side, relieving Neku of Sora's weight and placing the limp boy on the couch. "He's lost a lot of blood," she noted, going over him. "He's only passed out, but we need to get him fixed up or he won't last much longer."

"Can any of you heal him?" Yuffie asked.

Hanekoma shook his head. "It's beyond me this time."

"We have psyches," Shiki offered, "But I don't think any of us have healing-related ones…"

"I do."

All heads turned to Rhyme, whom walked quietly forward and pulled out what looked like a soda can out of her pocket. "I used pins when I was in the game. I had two of these and gave one to Neku, but I've still kept it."

"Will it work?" Leon asked.

Rhyme nodded. "I think so." Kneeling down next to Sora, she tilted his head up and pried open his jaw. Then, carefully, she pressed the can to the boy's lips and poured its contents into his mouth. Stillness fell over the room as all eyes turned on the little girl kneeling next to the unconscious keyblade master. Slowly, the bleeding stopped, and the scratches healed, while Sora's breathing returned to normal. His eyes cracked open, and a small groan escaped his throat. "You okay, Sora?" Rhyme asked, noticing him stir.

The key bearer blinked a few times before finally speaking. "Am I…am I alive?"

Joshua smirked. "Well, technically you're still dead, Sora, but you haven't been erased if that's what you mean."

"Close enough," Sora replied, turning his head to see Rhyme facing him. "Are you Rhyme?"

Rhyme nodded, a soft smile on her face. "Yeah. That's me."

Sora smiled back. "You healed me just now, right? Thanks."

Rhyme blushed and looked away. "Y-You're welcome."

Beat had a very odd look on his face in reaction to the exchange. Joshua and Leon had similar, unchanging looks, Yuffie and Shiki grinned, and Neku just shook his head while chuckling to himself. _Rhyme always was kinda shy._

Sora began to sit up, but winced and clutched his side for a moment. Rhyme rushed forward again, helping him upright. "There's only one thing left for me to do now," he said. "Do any of you know where the keyhole is?"

"It's on the door," Beat replied, jabbing his thumb behind him.

"Not _that_ keyhole," Neku replied. "The keyhole to Shibuya itself."

Beat's eyes widened. "You mean Shibuya's in some giant room?"

Sora shook his head. "No. Long story short, there's a keyhole in every world. If I seal it, you won't have any more problems with the heartless or nobodies. Normally, it's hidden somewhere important."

"How about Udagawa?" Neku suggested. "CAT's graffiti is always there."

"Or WildKat," Shiki suggested. "It's where Mr. H always is!"

"Neither," Hanekoma said.

"You know where it is?" Sora asked.

Hanekoma shook his head. "I can't tell for sure, but your player pins can point it out. That's why I told you to bring them."

Neku's thoughts screeched to a halt, slammed into one another, became a jumbled mess, and then desperately untangled themselves before he could make sense of whatever Hanekoma just said. "Whoa whoa, slow down!" he said, holding one hand to his head. "_You_ told us? But that would mean…"

"It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that," Mr. H replied, chuckling. "Being a Producer and a GM at the same time is very chaotic, and I was so busy I had to get Joshua to run the shop for me."

"It wasn't that bad," Joshua said, pushing a clump of silver hair out of his eyes casually.

"But what about the player pins?" Sora said. "You said they could point out the keyhole?"

Hanekoma nodded. "They very well can."

"Then let's go," Sora said. "I've got to seal that thing before any more trouble starts." He stood, but limped and swayed on the spot until Yuffie rushed to him, helping him stay on his feet. "…going to have a bit of trouble walking, though."

"One second," Joshua said, stepping forward. "Before you go do your stuff, you need to accept a reward."

"A reward?" Neku echoed.

Joshua chuckled. "Didn't I tell you I was going to bring you back when you were done? Of course, you're not completely done with it all, but you should still be able to reach the keyhole from the RG."

Sora pulled out the player pin he had kept from his pocket and stared at it. "But how are we supposed to find the keyhole with this?"

"How do you find _anything_ with the player pin?" Joshua replied, smirking. "Well, then. Are you all ready to go?"

"One question," Neku said. "When we get back, we can't use psyches. How are we supposed to find the keyhole if we can't scan?"

Joshua shrugged. "I'll just give you the same psyche privileges that I gave to your friends, but only until the keyhole is sealed. Any longer and I'll get in trouble with the higher-ups."

"Sounds good to me," Sora replied. "Let's go."

"Very well," Joshua replied, holding one hand in the air. A glimmering white light shone from it before it flooded their vision. Neku choked a bit as he felt a foreign force rush into him, jerking him off the floor. An ethereal wind swirled around him, shoving his hair over his eyes and blowing his clothes softly. As he gasped for breath for the first real time in over a week, the light shattered into countless fragments, leaving a sparkling shower of light behind.

The scenery was blurry at first, thanks to the sudden light, but Neku was gradually able to make out a nearby burger shop, a pathway nearby leading down to the station underpass, and the scramble behind him.

He had been brought back to life and dumped at Hachiko.

As Neku stood, he noted that time around him had completely frozen, aside from the few people that he recognized: Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, Joshua, Mr. H, Leon, Yuffie, and Sora. Perhaps it was for the better; Sora had told Neku that he didn't want more people knowing than necessary.

"Yo, did someone stop the clock?" Beat asked no one in particular, prodding a nearby frozen girl.

"Time will resume when the keyhole is sealed," Joshua explained.

Sora pulled out his pin and held it up, eyes closed. Neku felt a slight chill go down his spine as Sora scanned, remaining there until the boy opened his eyes again. "I found it," he said. "It's right here."

"Lucky I dropped us off here then," Joshua said. "Well, you know what to do better than I do."

"Yeah," Sora replied, turning to the statue of the dog. The keyblade appeared in a small shower of sparkles. As Sora stood upright, his eyes focused forward, something shimmered on the pedestal that the statue sat upon. The glowing outline of a keyhole appeared, its dark depths swirling with mystery. His eyes stern, Sora lifted the keyblade and aimed it forward, a glimmering light swirling around the tip and converging as Neku had seen it do before with the doorknob to Dead God's Pad. This time, however, when it shot out, a responding burst of radiance appeared from the keyhole, and a clearly audible _click_ could be heard. As the lights faded away, so did the keyhole, shattering gently upwards and dissipating.

Time resumed normal, and people whom were trapped in mid-step continued walking, others continued their conversations, none paying attention to the small crowd of people that had appeared from thin air. Beat jumped a bit, while nearly everyone else retained normal posture. After a moment of relative silence, Sora spoke. "Hey, Neku…when we were fighting Leo Cantus, what did you say about holding the keyblade?"

Neku blinked, recalling how it had felt. In the midst of battle he had simply gone along with it, but once their enemy had been defeated the rush of sensation had flooded his mind. "Well," he began, "When I use a psyche it drains energy from me. Not the energy that keeps me alive, more like my focus or something. When I was holding the keyblade, it was like the opposite was happening. It stopped the moment I gave it back to you, though."

"Hold the phone!" Yuffie cried. "_Neku_ used the keyblade?"

"Sort of," Sora replied. "I just improvised and tossed it to him. I dunno, maybe he'll be able to wield the keyblade someday."

"You really think so?" Neku asked, entirely surprised.

Sora shrugged. "Maybe. You've got the heart for it, after all."

_The heart for it?_ The proxy echoed in his mind. Maybe Sora was right. He smiled at the thought.

"Sora," Leon began, "Let's go. We need to let the others know you're alright, and there are other worlds that need our help."

"You can't stay?" Shiki asked, looking upset.

Sora shook his head. "No. There are other places that are in as much danger as this place was, maybe more. I have to go out and make sure no other world falls to the heartless. This place is safe, so my job is done."

"You ganna be okay out there?" Beat asked. "You didn't look so good when you came back from beatin' Pi-face, yo."

"I've been through worse," Sora said. "I'll manage."

_He's been through way worse,_ Neku told himself. _But he'll make it. That promise is what keeps him going. I know he will._

"We'll stop by Radiant Garden first," Yuffie said. "If you wanna say your goodbyes, Sora, go ahead and make them. We'll wait for you on the street corner."

"Okay," Sora replied, waiting until the two were out of earshot before turning back. "I'm not very good with goodbyes…"

"You don't have to be," Rhyme said. "We'll see you again someday, right?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. Of course I will."

Beat grinned widely. "Don't run into too much trouble, yo!"

"I won't," Sora replied. "By the way, Shiki…you sew, right?"

Shiki nodded. "Yeah. I'm thinking about going to school for fashion design."

"Keep up the good work," Sora said, grinning widely before he turned to Joshua. His face went from friendly to angry and stern, yet calm. "I don't know what to tell you other than I'm still really mad."

Joshua said nothing, and looked blankly at Sora. Deciding he wasn't going to get an answer, Sora sighed. "But you did help me find the keyhole, and you helped me get rid of the heartless. I guess I have to thank you for that. So…thanks."

There was a hint of a grin on the composer's face. "Just doing what needed to be done," he replied.

"I'll be a go-between for you guys," Hanekoma said. "If any of you need to contact Sora, I can send a message. As for you, Sora, just ask Cid if you need to send a message to anyone."

"You'll be hearing from me," Sora said, grinning widely before turning to Neku. "Neku…I'm really going to miss you."

"It'll be pretty boring around here for a while," Neku admitted, smiling lopsidedly. "No game to get stuck in, no missions to solve…at least _you'll_ be busy."

Sora chuckled. "I guess I will," he said. There was a pause as he looked in the air for a moment. "Oh, before I forget…"

The group gave Sora a questioning look before a familiar, transparent figure appeared next to Sora, grinning awkwardly. "Do I get to say goodbye, too?"

While the others (aside from Joshua and Hanekoma) gawked, Neku waved. "Hey, Roxas. I'll be missing you, too."

Roxas crossed his arms and smirked before looking at the others. "And to you guys…Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, Joshua, and Mr. H, I know I never met any of you either, but I'll miss you all, too."

"Who's he?" Rhyme asked, tilting her head.

"He a ghost?!" Beat exclaimed, jumping back a bit.

Shiki just smiled. "Roxas, right? I don't think we've met before, but…I'll miss you just the same."

"Keep in touch," Roxas replied. "We all know how forgetful Sora can be."

Sora protested, but Roxas only laughed. When he realized that he wasn't about to get Roxas to stop teasing him, he looked away shyly. "We'd better get going."

Roxas nodded. "Right." With a gradual flash of blue light, Roxas faded back into Sora, and the glow surrounded the keyblade master before vanishing.

"What just happened, yo?" Beat asked. "Is he possessing you, Sora?"

"No," Sora replied. "I'm sure Neku can fill you in. I need to go."

"Can I get a picture before you leave?" Shiki asked.

There was hesitation for a moment, but Sora nodded. "Okay, sure."

The group headed over and posed in front of Hachiko, with Joshua handling Shiki's camera phone. As the group took on a pose, he smirked and held his finger over the capture button. "Smile, everyone."

* * *

And that brings the final chapter to a close, unless you count the epilogue. I'm so terrible at writing goodbyes, and now I must say an awkward one of my own.

Everyone, this fic has been one crazy ride for me. It started as a small idea in my head shortly after finishing up another fic of mine. I had beaten The World Ends With You and wondered, what would it be like if the heartless had invaded the UG, and Sora had to help stop it? I wrote up a few first chapters as the plot bunny and didn't really expect it to take off, but it gained popularity so fast, and the more I thought about it, the more ideas I had, and soon it turned into a full-fledged story. Many things wove their way in that I never would have guessed would have, while others were sadly left out.

_Playing for Keeps_ has become one of my most popular fics, and I've had so many encouraging reviews for this. Without you guys and your ideas and encouragement, this thing wouldn't be. Thank you all, and stay tuned for the epilogue!


	18. Epilogue

Hey, guys! I told you I'd write an epilogue! XD

Summary: An accident sends Neku back into the Reaper's Game, but this time it's more than accomplishing missions or even survival. Neku knows these new creatures aren't noise, and a certain keyblade-wielding teen may hold the answers for him. (Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Epilogue**

* * *

Sora's sixteenth birthday was uneventful until he got a certain package in the mail. He had remained in contact with Cid and the others even after going home, so every now and then they'd check in with each other. Today, however, was special.

"Sora! You have a package!"

Hearing his mother's voice, Sora hopped out of bed and headed downstairs. "A package?" he asked.

"Probably a gift from your friends," she replied, gesturing to a very large package sitting on the floor. "I'll be in here fixing lunch, okay?"

"'kay, mom!" Sora replied, eagerly heading over to the package and tearing the packing tape off before opening the panels and gazing inside. Contained in the package were several objects. One was a neatly folded black jacket made in Sora's favorite short-sleeved, hooded style, lined with metallic silver fabric and decorated with the familiar player pin insignia sewn on the left flap. There was a small stack of CD's packed carefully in one corner, a skateboard (Sora felt Roxas grin in delight), a small white box taped closed, an envelope, and the framed, enlarged photo that Joshua had taken of the group when they were in Shibuya.

Sora studied it closely: he saw himself with the group standing in front of Hachiko. Sora had struck a somewhat silly and victorious pose, the keyblade lifted into the air and pointing upward (he received a few stares, but no one suspected anything serious). Hanekoma was off to the side with his hands in his pockets and his usual lopsided grin on his face. Beat had shot the camera a thumbs-up while Rhyme stood next to him, giving a shy smile. Neku and Shiki stood closely together on the other side of Sora, with Shiki holding Mr. Mew in her arms and smiling brightly while Neku, whom had pulled his headphones down, was waving and grinning.

Placing the photo down, Sora pulled out the envelope and opened it, finding a rather long sheet of paper with several notes scribbled on it. The first was in very loopy cursive writing.

_Happy birthday, Sora! I hope you like the jacket I made you. I designed it after the one you wore, but I added my own personal touch if you don't mind. Have a great summer! -Shiki_

Casting a stray glance at the jacket, Sora smiled, picking it up and laying it over the couch before moving on to the next note. This one was in absolute chicken scratch; it was so messy Sora could hardly make it out.

_Sora, I … something you might … I hea… to skatebo… Boar near Udag…the bottom…appy birthd…_

Chuckling, Sora didn't have to guess to know that Beat was the one that had written the letter. He picked up the skateboard and examined the design on the other side, which consisted of several key-shaped designs and crown insignias. Upon closer inspection, it looked hand-painted. _Is Beat secretly an artist?_ Sora wondered before reading the next note, which was in a small, print style.

_Sorry if you can't read Beat's note, Sora. He's a messy writer. I couldn't think of anything to get you, so I got you a keychain from the store. They're limited edition, and I had to run to get the last one on the shelf. I hope you like it. Happy birthday! - Rhyme_

His eyes traveling to the white box, Sora picked it up and opened it. Inside was a small, elegant keychain much like the ones he owned, this one decorated with a small bell similar to the pendant he noticed Rhyme wearing. Suddenly feeling his cheeks get hot, he chuckled and placed the keychain back in the box, placing the lid at the bottom so that it would remain open. _She's such a sweet kid,_ he thought as he read on to the next letter. This one was in print, and was thankfully neat enough to make out while still being a bit messy.

_Hey Sora, doing okay? I got you some CDs of 777 and some other great bands showing up. I even made a band with all of us. We're called the Players. One of the albums is ours, I hope you like it. Happy birthday. Hope to see you soon. –Neku_

"I always knew he'd be a good singer," Sora thought aloud, chuckling to himself. The next message was in very neat cursive compared to Shiki's:

_How are you, Sora? I was unable to get you anything, as I have been quite preoccupied with the Game. Have a nice birthday, keyblade master. -Joshua_

_He sure is formal,_ Sora observed. The composer certainly didn't write the way he spoke. He moved on to the final note.

_Sora, I hope this package reaches you safe and sound. Shiki stopped by and asked when your birthday was, so I had Cid fill me in. Shiki and Neku came back to hear when it was, then Shiki ran off to the fabric store while Neku made for AMX. Later on I saw Beat raiding the Wild Boar and the art supply store, and Rhyme was looking through the 104 tower. They all still talk about you and your adventure with Neku. Every now and then, I catch Neku looking off into the distance. Joshua says his Imagination has grown a lot stronger since you've been here; maybe someday he will wield a keyblade. Only time will tell, I guess. Be sure to visit sometime; I'm sure everyone will want to see you again._

The signature was a graffiti-esque cat's face rather than a name, but Sora knew who it was from. Stuffing all of the contents carefully back into the box, Sora picked it up and began to head upstairs. "Mom, I'm ganna write them back. Call me down when lunch is ready!"

"Okay, dear."

With a grin, Sora raced up the steps, placing the box on his bed before whipping out a pen. Roxas appeared leaning against the wall and smirked. "You sure have a lot of friends there," he said.

"You do too," Sora pointed out as he clicked his pen open. "What should I write to them…"

"A thank-you is kinda necessary," Roxas suggested. "Or maybe you could tell the what you've been up to lately."

The keyblade master chewed on the end of his pen for a moment before finally resting it on the paper and writing.

* * *

"Nice job you guys!" Neku said, grinning as he set the microphone back onto its stand. "If we keep going at this rate, our concert will be a huge hit!"

"I told you I'm good with drums, yo!" Beat replied.

Nearby, Shiki pulled the guitar off of her shoulder and placed it on its stand. "Eri's making us some outfits for the big day," she said. "I've gatta go over and help her after dinner so they'll be done on time. How about you guys?"

"I'm ganna go home with Beat," Rhyme said, turning off her bass guitar and placing it carefully in its case. "I still need to practice a few chords and stuff."

"Are you kidding?" Neku exclaimed. "You were great, Rhyme!"

The little girl blushed. "Thanks."

A familiar set of footsteps made their way into the small garage where the setup had been placed. "How goes the practice, Players?" Hanekoma called.

Neku grinned. "We're doing great, Mr. H! Thanks for helping sponsor us."

"No prob," the graffiti artist replied, waving casually. "Joshua did a bit of imprinting in the UG to help spread the word about your band just yesterday, so I had a bit of help."

"Is imprinting really the best way to do advertising?" Shiki questioned.

Hanekoma shrugged. "Only thing he did was point two or three people to some advertisements. He's pretty busy with the Reaper's Game lately, so that's all he had time for, but word traveled around really fast and now Makoto's boss wants to help sponsor you, too."

"That's great!" Rhyme exclaimed.

Beat threw a triumphant fist into the air. "We'll be on the charts in no time!"

Neku grinned, placing his hand in his pocket. As much as he still disliked Joshua, he had to thank him for something like that, however small it was. The fact that Makoto's boss was sponsoring him was huge; they must be better than they thought.

"Oh, by the way…" Hanekoma fished a small folded slip of paper out of his pocket. "I got this from Cid just an hour ago. It's addressed to you guys."

"Cid?" Neku echoed, running forward and taking the letter from Mr. H and unfolding the paper. He read the first line, and a bright smile appeared on his face. "Guys, it's from Sora!"

Rhyme rushed over before the others could even move. "Read it! Read it!"

"Okay, okay," Neku said, chuckling as he began to read. The letter was in messy print, but it was quite readable compared to Beat's so-called handwriting.

_Hey guys, how are you? I can hardly believe it's been months since I've been to Shibuya. I tried playing Tin Pin Slammer with Riku a while after I got back, and he kicked my butt. He kicks my butt at everything. I got your package just today, you guys are the best! How's your band? I bet you guys never knew Neku could sing. There haven't been any problems with heartless or nobodies since I got back, so most everything is peaceful. It's really quiet here on the islands, and there's no music in the background, so I'm usually playing my CD player in my room. I'm planning on paying Shibuya a visit soon, and when I do I'll see if I can bring Riku and Kairi along with me. See you guys soon! –Sora_

"Sounds like he's doing great," Shiki noted.

"Hang on a sec," Rhyme interrupted. "There's another note."

"There is?" Neku asked, looking back and noting another letter underneath Sora's this one written in neater handwriting. "Well, what do you know…?"

_Sora went to go play with his gifts because he was so excited. Now he's exhausted, so he went to bed and left me with the pen and paper. He's so bad at writing letters, so I think I'll add this in for him and fill in a few blanks._

_Beat: Sora adores the skateboard you got him, and he had a great time riding it around the skate park. He gave me a turn on it, too…well, sort of…and it rides really well. He thought the design on the bottom was a professional one when he saw it. Are you an artist?_

The skateboarder looked away when everyone glanced at him, and Neku kept reading.

_Joshua: You sound pretty busy, but don't worry about not getting Sora anything. He says you've given him plenty already, and you've given a lot to me, too. Thanks._

Hanekoma grinned. "I'll pass on the message," he said, even knowing Sora wasn't there to hear him.

_Shiki: You seriously are going to be Shibuya's number one fashion designer one day. Sora's expression when he saw the jacket was priceless. Knowing him, he'll probably wear it everywhere for the next week or so. He likes it that much. His mom asked him what store you got it from, and she was blown away when he told her it was hand-sewn._

The seamstress smiled warmly.

_Rhyme: The keychain is beautiful. Sora has a small collection of keychains on his wall from his other adventures – he's collected them even before then, too – and he was about to place it in a special case of his when he found out that the keyblade accepted it. I'll have to coax a picture out of him, but he blushes whenever I mention it. Right now he has your keychain looped on his fingers. Every now and then his fingers will twitch and the bell rings. It's really pretty._

Rhyme giggled shyly, her cheeks turning red. Neku had seen her the other day rushing into the 104 tower with wide eyes and a pale face; she must have been in a huge hurry. Now he knew what she had bought him.

_Neku: Sora really likes the albums you got him. We were both listening to yours, though, and it just blew our minds. You're totally destined to be a top-notch band. Let us know when your concert is and we'll see if we can make it over. Cid'll probably be stingy about letting us use the Gummi Ship for something like that, but he knows how important Shibuya is to us now, and we can always get Yuffie to worm it out of him._

Neku couldn't help but laugh at the comment. Yuffie didn't come off as that kind of person, but he could tell that the ninja had a very good knack for getting under people's skin and using it to their advantage.

_Mr. H: I really agree with you, and I personally don't think that day is too far off. Sora wonders what'll happen when that day finally comes, but he never thinks about it too much. After all, we'll never know for sure until the time comes._

"…what?" Neku echoed as he finished the letter. "What's he talking about?"

"Something important between him and me, I'd imagine," Hanekoma said vaguely.

_To everyone: Take care in Shibuya. I know it gets chaotic, but you can do it. Good luck with your dreams! –Roxas_

Immediately upon hearing the sender's name, Beat jumped back and whimpered. "The ghost wrote us a letter?!"

Neku rolled his eyes. "I explained this already," he said. "Roxas isn't a ghost."

"Do you think he'll really come back?" Rhyme asked.

"Of course he will," Hanekoma assured them. "Sora's not the kind of kid that'll go back on his word."

_Of course not,_ Neku remembered. _He keeps his promises. Right up until the bitter end, I'd bet…_

After sorting out a few more contest details with Hanekoma, the group began to pack up and head home. Neku thought he caught Rhyme staring out at the sky for a moment and walked over to her. "Something wrong?"

"No," the girl said simply. "I was just looking at the sky. I don't think it's ever looked like that before."

When Neku looked up, he saw what she was referring to. While it looked the same to his eyes – the nighttime Shibuya sky was the same as it always was – but he viewed it differently in his mind. Before, he thought nothing of it, but now the sky seemed so much more important to him, now that he knew that countless other worlds were out there, and at any given moment, Sora could be on any one of them, just like he had appeared in Shibuya one moment and vanished the next. "You're right…" Neku muttered. "It is different."

"Rhyme! Come on! You don't wanna be late for dinner, yo!"

"Patience is a virtue, Beat," Rhyme called, turning to Neku. "I gatta go. See you tomorrow, okay?"

"Got it," Neku replied, waving as the girl jogged off to walk home with her big brother. Once everyone was finally out of sight, he sighed and headed inside, going up to his room and flopping onto his bed. He had settled for an instant microwave dinner before rehersal, so he could head straight to bed without being pestered by his parents to eat. He stared at the many posters on his wall: some were of CAT's work, others were of various bands he favored, and there was also a small box of familiar pins on top of his dresser, on top of which were two pins in particular: one with a skull-and-crossbones mark and the other with no decoration whatsoever. Standing next to the box of pins was a photograph of him, Shiki, Hanekoma, Beat, Rhyme, and a certain keyblade-wielding boy, all standing in front of the statue of Hachiko.

Smiling, Neku pulled off his headphones and placed them on his bedside table before turning off his lamp and nodding off to sleep.

* * *

**The End.**


	19. Special Secret: Pursuit

WAIT A MINUTE WHATS THIS

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Special Secret: Pursuit**

* * *

An enigmatic figure narrowed his eyes, his fist clenched on the arm of his chair. "That foolish boy has the heart of a keybearer…and the Imagination of a composer."

Another figure groaned, rolling his eyes. "Remaining here will do us no good. We have a newer, better power now. Can't we just take him down?"

"Didn't you hear him? The heart of a keybearer means he's powerful enough to mop the floor with us and _make us like it_."

"Enough. We will have to act cautiously in this matter. By now he has already reunited with his…_friends_. Send in a small force to keep an eye on him. Once we know of his capabilities, we will have to discern as to whether or not he will be of use to us…"

"The keybearer himself will also be a problem. It would seem he is headed for Shibuya himself…along with two of his allies."

"Does he suspect us?"

"It's impossible to say. He's about as predictable as the Flurry of Dancing Flames was."

"Speaking of which," another shaded figure said, "Why are we even worried? The boy isn't a threat outside the UG…"

"But the Keybearer _is_. If we are to retrieve the boy, we must bring him in alive, conscious or not. Make sure that Keybearer stays out of the way."

"…understood."

One of the shadowy figures vanished in a swirl of darkness. Unknown to any of them, a spy was hidden in the shadows, watching their every move. Eyes widening in realization, he vanished without a trace. He had to warn them. He had to warn his companions.

Shibuya was in grave danger.

* * *

That's right, folks...you're getting your sequel. Why? Because you are all totally freaking awesome, that's why.


	20. Omake: The Bet

Sora blinked. "Wait a sec…I thought we already finished Playing for Keeps."

"We did," Neku replied calmly, leaning back against his non-existent chair. "Haven't you ever heard of an Omake before?"

"Omake?" Sora echoed, staring blankly.

Neku sighed, rubbing his head. _Do I have to explain _everything_ to him?_ "Omake basically means extra. Meaning this chapter holds no relation to the main plot of this fanfic whatsoever."

Sora's mouth formed an "o" and he nodded in understanding. "I get it now. But…why write one? FlikFreak's been kind of inactive lately. Is she trying to appease her readers or something?"

"Actually, she's just really busy," Neku corrected him. "Less active than normal is a better way to put it. Aside from looking for schools and working on her novel, I heard she's heading to Sakuracon next weekend and she's hurrying to get her cosplay of Rhyme done." There was a moment of silence before Neku noticed Sora's face flush. "Sora, why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing!" Sora insisted, his face flushing even redder. "I'm just…surprised that anyone would be interested in Rhyme enough to dress like her."

"People do it all the time, Sora. They dress as Rhyme, they dress as me…" A grin. "…they even dress like you."

At this, Sora's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Are you _serious_?"

_Oh man, his face is priceless._ "Yep. You're actually pretty popular."

Sora's face began to twitch between confusion, astonishment, and bashfulness. "But…and these clothes were…am I really…but…"

Flikfreak suddenly walked through the already smashed hole in the fourth wall, a load of fabric in her arms. "Guys, cut it out. If you keep this up, no one's going to want to read the omake."

"Sorry," Neku replied. "Sora's just having a difficult time grasping the concept of-"

"I'm aware of that," Flikfreak replied. "Now fix this wall before I have to sic Fluffy on you." She turned to leave before pausing. "Oh, yeah. And be sure to tell the readers that the idea for this omake belongs to Hero Slayer, not me. 'kay?"

And with that she vanished in a puff of red and blue polka-dotted smoke, leaving the two to stare and wonder how the author could simply manifest into her own fanfiction through sheer force of will…and how she managed to make the smoke look like that.

With an air of determination, Neku turned to face the audience, somehow actually knowing which way to look. "I'm pretty sure you already know this, but Flikfreak does not own _The World Ends With You_ or _Kingdom Hearts_. She doesn't own me, Rhyme or Sora either, and she definitely doesn't own any fashion brands."

"They all belong to Square-Enix," Sora added. "The only thing Flikfreak owns is the idea for this fic overall, and Hero Slayer gets credit for this oh-bah-kay idea."

"Sora, it's _omake_."

"That's what I said."

Neku rolled his eyes. "Anyway, there may be other omake for this fic in the future. Those of you wondering where the sequel is, it's called _Chasing The Truth_, and it's been out for a while. Just letting you know."

"Come on, Neku. Let's just let them read while we fix this wall. I don't want to know who Fluffy is…"

"Me either," Neku replied, grabbing a hot glue gun and walking over to the damaged fourth wall.

**Playing For Keeps**

**By FlikFreak**

**Omake: The Bet**

* * *

Sora stared almost blankly at the scene in front of him. _It's just like Udagawa,_ he muttered._ And Cat Street. And everywhere else. What's going on here…?_

Neku had told him about how wearing a certain fashion in the UG could affect how everyone in the RG dressed. If someone wanted to, they could wear Lolita everywhere and eventually cause a sensation to sweep the entirety of Shibuya. He couldn't fathom, however, why _anyone_ would even try to make everyone wear _this_ brand.

So when Neku woke up, Sora asked him. "Hey, Neku?"

"Yeah, Sora?" Neku replied, looking thoroughly exhausted for some reason.

"Why is everyone wearing Natural Puppy brand clothes?"

"They're all wearing it?"

"Yeah. Even the guys."

Neku groaned and looked away, the circles under his eyes getting deeper. "I, uh…I lost a bet with Shiki, so…"

Sora gawked. "Oh, wow. That sucks. What did you bet on?"

The proxy grabbed his headphones protectively and looked away. "You're better off not knowing, Sora…you're better off not knowing."


End file.
